Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, has published his report on the operation and wind up of Teesside Development Corporation. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s report is in response to concerns raised with him by three Members of Parliament for the North East of England and a former contractor of the Corporation. … Read more
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on the costs of the departure of Mr Derek Casey, the former Chief Executive of Sport England. In drawing Parliament’s attention to this matter Sir John has not qualified his audit opinion on either the Sport England grant-in-aid or lottery fund accounts … Read more
This article is taken from pages 14-15 of the NAO report Agricultural fraud: The case of Joseph Bowden – published February 2002 – and summarises the recommendations from this report.
“The Report highlights what can happen when checks on claims for agricultural subsidies are not sufficiently rigorous. In this case the authorities successfully prosecuted a fraudster but his illegal activities would have come to light earlier had the Ministry’s checks been more thorough. Large sums of public money are at risk under Common Agricultural Policy Schemes, and although systems have been put in place to prevent a repetition of the fraud, the Department and the Rural Payments Agency will have to maintain a careful watch.”
“I am pleased that the DVLA has been able to implement these substantial changes to the vehicle excise duty regime with minimum disruption to the motoring public. I commend the agency’s staff for their efforts in processing well over one million applications for rebates of duty from hauliers and private motorists in just a few months, without jeopardising the achievement of the agency’s other key strategic targets.”
“The estimated revenue losses from the misuse and smuggling of hydrocarbon oils duty reveal that growing sums of revenue are being lost through smuggling and the illegal use of rebated fuel. Customs have recognised this problem by producing a strategy to deal with the frauds and are developing that strategy further.
“Every effort must be made to combat this criminal activity which not only results in large amounts of lost duty but also poses threats to health and safety.”
“Being at the forefront of the public sector’s drive to develop electronic services carries increased risks which need to be managed. Teething problems are to be expected, and need to be learned from quickly. The Inland Revenue has adopted a number of good practices from the private sector, including build and learn. An important message is that services must be demonstrably useful to the public if they are to use them on any scale, but it can take time to redesign existing processes particularly in an organisation as large and complex as the Inland Revenue.
“Many of the lessons learned by the Inland Revenue, and the good practices adopted, are equally applicable to other public bodies developing electronic services, and it is important to share these good practices as they develop.”
” I welcome and support the steps that Customs have taken to estimate the amount of revenue being lost through fraud, and to develop and implement counter-fraud strategies. Fraud is a major problem both for Government and for citizens, and I will be reporting on how a number of Departments are responding to the challenge. “
“I have said on many occasions that I support worthwhile and well thought through innovation and risk taking in the public sector. Successful commercial projects building on the excellence of our scientific research offer the prospect of valuable benefits for the country. A real commitment to success and a thorough approach to managing the risks involved in these projects is vita.”
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on the 2000-2001 Teachers’ Pension Scheme (England and Wales) Resource Account. He has limited the scope of the audit opinion because the Managers of the Scheme were unable to provide him at the date of his opinion with sufficient evidence to support … Read more
