More needs to be done to encourage older people – an increasingly large proportion of the population – to use government e-services if those services are to provide value for money, according to the National Audit Office. The government set itself a target that everyone who wants access to the internet has it by the […]
The innovative Individual Learning Accounts (ILA) scheme was aimed at widening participation in learning and helping to overcome financial barriers faced by learners, particularly amongst those who lack skills and qualifications. The scheme, which subsidised the costs of appropriate courses, was implemented too quickly and inadequately planned. The Department for Education and Skills had no […]
Consumers spend some £400 billion each year on goods and services bought from the private sector. The Audit Commission and the National Audit Office have concluded that there is scope for a real improvement in the way in which consumers’ interests are protected. In a joint initiative the two audit organisations have looked at consumer […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Private Finance Initiative deal for the new British Embassy in Berlin is likely to provide a suitable building at a price slightly lower than a comparable conventional procurement. The contract provides for the construction of a new Embassy building and its […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority (SSRA) and its predecessor organisation, the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF), had taken action where possible to remedy underperformance by passenger train operators but that the present franchise arrangements could be improved to secure better performance. […]
This briefing has been prepared for the Public Administration Select Committee to provide an overview of the work and performance of the Cabinet Office in the financial year 2007-08 and subsequent months.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the United Kingdom made a major and vital contribution to the successful NATO operation in Kosovo. And the Ministry of Defence’s financial management of their military operations in Kosovo represented a clear improvement over that achieved in Bosnia. Against the background of […]
In April 2006 the National Audit Office published a briefing for the Environmental Audit Committee on UK climate change policy. This review was produced to inform and assist the Committee’s further work on climate change, and set out options for further Committee scrutiny.