Central government could improve its day to day cash management and reduce the amount of interest it pays on debt if its departments and their sponsored bodies held less money in commercial bank accounts. Today’s report to Parliament by the National Audit Office recommends that these organisations instead use the Exchequer as their main banking […]
If the government is serious about increasing its use of small and medium – sized enterprises (SMEs), it will need to focus on those areas where SMEs can deliver real benefits.
The Government has committed £933 million from the Libor Fund, but cannot yet confirm that all the money has been used as intended.
The Department has committed electricity consumers and taxpayers to a high cost and risky deal in a changing energy marketplace. We cannot say the Department has maximised the chances that it will achieve value for money.
This report looks at how much the Treasury’s Value for Money savings programme has improved value for money across government. The programme aims to achieve government-wide annual savings of £35 billion from 2008-09 to 2010-11.
The Cabinet Office has not yet established a clear role for itself in coordinating and leading departments’ efforts to protect their information, according to the National Audit Office. Today’s report found that its ambition to undertake such a role is weakened by the limited information which departments collect on their security costs, performance and risks. […]
The National Offender Management Service Executive Agency (NOMS) has obtained good value for money from its expenditure on prison maintenance, the National Audit Office has today reported. In spite of an increasing prisoner population – over 73,000 people held in custody in public sector prisons in England & Wales in 2007-08 – spending has been […]
The Department of Health is on track to meet most of the key targets identified in a review of its arm’s length bodies, according to a report out today by the National Audit Office. By the end of 2007-08, expenditure will have reduced by £555 million, against the target of £500 million. And the number […]
The progress made by a programme to modernise the Disclosure and Barring Service.
The Jobcentre Plus programme rolled out a network of over 800 offices, combining the functions of the former jobcentres and social security offices, and was completed for £314 million less than the original £2.2 billion budget according to a National Audit Office report released today. The project was well managed, particularly the procurement aspect, where […]
The purpose of the guide is to demonstrate and explain some of the good practices used by organisations in tackling external fraud. It includes checklists to help you assess your current practices.
To obtain value for money from public spending, lessons must be learnt from both success and failure. Although there is some effective learning within departments, learning is still not as prioritised as much as it should be, according to a National Audit Office report released today. Much learning in government occurs after large projects, initiatives […]
This paper draws together evidence on the current landscape of charity regulation and the charity sector more generally. It was prepared for the Public Administration Select Committee.
In collaboration with the National Governors Association, the National Audit Office has updated its well-received guide for school governors. The guide was first published in May 2006 alongside our value for money report on Improving poorly performing schools. It is intended to help both new and experienced primary and secondary school governors, as well as school leaders, identify and tackle the issues important to their schools’ organisation and performance.
The role and remit of Local Enterprise Partnerships has grown since 2010, but the approach taken by DCLG to overseeing Growth Deals risks future value for money.
The NAO strategy 2014-15 to 2016-17 sets out how our public audit perspective will help Parliament hold government to account and improve public services.
In December 2015 a five year contract, worth around £800 million between UnitingCare Partnership and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough clinical commissioning group collapsed after only 8 months because it ran into financial difficulties. NAO examined the design, procurement and operation of the contract and the events that led to its termination.
The NAO has concluded in a new report published today that the tendering process for PFI projects needs improvement. During 2004-2006, PFI projects took an average of almost three years (34 months) to tender. Although there was substantial variation between sectors with schools, in particular, taking significantly less time to close deals (25 months), the […]
The Carbon Trust helped UK businesses and public sector organisations reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by up to an estimated two million tonnes in 2006-07 according to a report out today by the National Audit Office. And its support of emerging low carbon technologies could lead to further sizeable reductions in the future. The Carbon […]
The Building Schools for the Future programme aims to rebuild, refurbish and provide new Information Technology for all 3,500 secondary schools in England by 2020. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) underestimated how long it would take to launch the programme and build the schools, though the speed of delivery has compared well […]