The NAO has called for government to negotiate greater access to information about how much outsourced public services are actually costing suppliers and therefore how much profit they are making.
The NAO has called for government to negotiate greater access to information about how much outsourced public services are actually costing suppliers and therefore how much profit they are making.
This report summarises our progress over the third year of the 2012-2015 strategy. As part of our commitment to the Public Sector Equality Duty we also publish equality data in our separate ‘Equality Information’ report.
A programme to sell enough government land by March 2015 to build a potential 100,000 homes did not collect information on the amount of money raised or how many homes have actually been built. In future land sales, responsibility for monitoring what happens to land after disposal should be made clear.
Payment by results (PbR) schemes are hard to get right, and are risky and costly for commissioners. Credible evidence for claimed benefits of PbR is now needed.
Over 10 million people who used public services (about 1 in 5) in the UK last year faced problems with the services. Detriment can and does occur. But users find the complaints and redress systems confusing.
The Annual Report highlights that, during 2014-15, we certified 442 accounts, published 65 major reports and supported 60 hearings of the Committee of Public Accounts. We have helped create £5.5 billion in savings across the public sector over the past five years, including £1.15 billion in 2014. Since 2010-11, we have reduced our net resource spend by 23%, after allowing for inflation.
The first phase of the Care Act has been implemented well, but this places new responsibilities on local authorities whose core funding is being significantly reduced.
The Department for Communities and Local Government has taken steps since November 2014 to improve its understanding of new burdens on local authorities.
The GREAT campaign enables government organisations to adopt consistent and effective brand management. To date, Cabinet Office has reported a return of £1.2 billion on its £113.5 million GREAT campaign investment. This is based on anticipated as well as actual expenditure by business, tourists and students.
Police forces have successfully reduced costs since 2011, but do not have a clear understanding of the demands placed upon them or of the factors that affect their costs.
This strategy sets out how the NAO will achieve a more diverse and inclusive workforce and ensure that our work helps improve diversity and inclusion across the public sector, and reports on our diversity progress so far.
HM Treasury is improving the content of the Whole of Government Accounts, which shows the overall financial position of the UK public sector, and the document has been produced faster than ever.
Find out who you should contact with complaints relating to local audits or for other queries about local auditors and audit contracts.
MOD has made good progress stabilising the equipment programme but needs to set out how a bespoke trading entity will transform Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) into the leading defence acquisition organisation by 2017.
The NAO acknowledges the vital role played by inspectorates but identifies inconsistency in the extent to which they are independent of government and in their reporting arrangements, which can limit their impact.
The Building Public Trust Awards recognise trust and transparency in corporate reporting. This is the 12th year in which PwC has presented these annual awards.
Under the Scheme, the Treasury guarantees that lenders to infrastructure projects will be repaid in full and on time, irrespective of project performance. The NAO is calling for the Treasury to be rigorous and objective in assessing whether the guarantees, which transfer risk to the public sector, are genuinely needed.
This report outlines the importance of recognising and adequately managing conflicts of interest.
The inability of the DfE to prepare financial statements providing a true and fair view of financial activity by its group of bodies means that it is not meeting the accountability requirements of Parliament.