The Privatisation of Royal Mail
The Department was successful in floating Royal Mail. But its approach was marked by deep caution, the price of which was borne by the taxpayer.
Published:
1 Apr 2014
1 Apr 2014
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Publications
The procurement of consumables by NHS acute and Foundation trusts
NHS hospitals often pay more than they need to when buying basic supplies. A combination of inadequate information and fragmented purchasing means that NHS hospitals’ procurement of consumables is poor value for money.
Published:
2 Feb 2011
2 Feb 2011
The Procurement of Criminal Legal Aid in England and Wales by the Legal Services Commission
“Last year the Legal Services Commission spent over £1 billion on criminal legal aid. With such a considerable sum of money involved, it is very important that the Commission understands the market from which it is buying and the cost effectiveness of its own practices, but at present, that is not the case. It needs to address this as a priority to make sure that it is paying a fair price for legal aid services that both sustains a competitive supplier base and provides value for money.”
Published:
27 Nov 2009
27 Nov 2009
The procurement of goods and services by HM Prison Service
“The Prison Service has made real progress in how it buys goods and services for prisons throughout the UK. The Service spends around £450 million a year and is securing a good deal for the taxpayer in using that money. It could do still better by extending the new approach to the whole of the organisation.”
Published:
23 Jul 2008
23 Jul 2008
The Procurement of the National Roads Telecommunications Services
“The Highways Agency’s procurement identified the risks to the National Roads Telecommunications Services project and successfully transferred them to the private sector, conducting negotiations with the preferred bidder well. It did however take a lot longer than planned and only two bidders remained through to the end of the competition. There are good practice lessons both for the Agency and for other major public procurements”
Published:
4 Apr 2008
4 Apr 2008
The production and distribution of cash
This report examines the role played by the public bodies involved in operating and overseeing the cash system.
Published:
18 Sep 2020
18 Sep 2020
The Provision of Out-of-Hours Care in England
“The Department of Health is now on track towards providing high-quality out-of-hours services. I am glad to see signs that Primary Care Trusts are getting better at managing their providers.
“However, it is disappointing that there were so many problems in starting the new arrangements and I am concerned that so few providers are meeting their targets for the time it takes respond to patients. And the continuing confusion over whether out-of-hours is supposed to be an urgent or unscheduled care service should be dispelled without delay.”
Published:
5 May 2006
5 May 2006
The Public Private Partnership for National Air Traffic Services Ltd
“The deal has been set up well to provide safety and accountability. But the financial position of the company will need strengthening by the parties involved to enable it to make further investment in air traffic control, one of the Government’s main objectives for the Partnership.”
Published:
24 Jul 2002
24 Jul 2002
The quality of service for personal taxpayers
HMRC aimed to move more customers online thereby reducing staff costs but significant numbers of staff were let go before technical improvements were completed leading to a collapse in service quality in 2015. Services have since improved.
Published:
25 May 2016
25 May 2016
The Radiocommunications Agency’s Joint Venture With CMG
“The partnership entered into by the Agency demonstrates that public sector bodies can produce innovative solutions to traditional problems. The project demonstrates that, properly managed, risk taking and innovation can lead to improved value for money for taxpayers.”
Published:
8 Dec 2000
8 Dec 2000