The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, today reported to Parliament that he has qualified his opinion on the financial statements of the Government Property Lawyers Agency for the year ended 31 March 1998 due to a fraud which resulted in a £542,000 loss to public funds.
In April 2000, three men were sentenced to prison terms for corruption in relation to the purchase of homes, between 1991 and 1995, by Focus Housing Association from a Birmingham property dealer. Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Corporation’s routine reviews of Focus during that period did … Read more
“The Ministry of Defence’s past performance in procuring major equipments has been unsatisfactory with significant cost overruns and delays on projects and adverse operational implications. I welcome the changes being introduced under the Smart Procurement Initiative since the baseline date of this report and the prospects they hold for improvement. Future Major Projects Reports will provide a basis for assessing how successful Smart Procurement is in enabling the Ministry of Defence to enhance defence capability by acquiring and supporting equipment more effectively in terms of time, cost and performance.”
“Broadly this should prove to be a satisfactory deal. There were some delays, but the FCO has done well to ensure that the risks of the project are placed with the party best able to manage them”.
“The Prison Service has obtained a share of refinancing benefits which recognises its exposure to increased termination liabilities. This review has identified important lessons for other departments who are likely to have to deal with the refinancing of PFI projects in the future.”
“I am very pleased to be able to present this first report of its kind and I am grateful to the Royal Household for their full co-operation. They are managing this work well.”
“I am glad to be able to provide a positive assurance that these funds are being well managed. In our report, wherever possible we have drawn out examples of good practice, as well as pointing to areas where we consider that further improvements to corporate governance and financial control arrangements could be made.”
“The Gaming Board has taken steps in recent years to improve the way it regulates the gaming industry but could achieve still more with a lighter regulatory touch. Better risk assessment, together with more use of the regulatory work already being done by the major operators, would enable the Board to reduce its routine inspections. This would benefit both the industry and taxpayers. Another area it must address is the failure to fully recover the costs of regulating the industry, the current shortfall being around £1.3 million over a five year period.”
“The Ministry of Defence made a major contribution to NATO operations in Kosovo and the professionalism and commitment of our Armed Forces has contributed, and continues to contribute, to the military success and the wider rebuilding of infrastructure and relationships. The Department’s financial management of the operations represents a clear improvement over that demonstrated for Bosnia, and the report details some further important lessons for the Department when undertaking future deployments.”
“The Department made a major contribution to saving lives and relieving suffering during the Kosovo crisis. Our recommendations are designed to help improve even more the way they respond to future emergencies.”
