The GREAT campaign enables government organisations to adopt consistent and effective brand management. To date, Cabinet Office has reported a return of £1.2 billion on its £113.5 million GREAT campaign investment. This is based on anticipated as well as actual expenditure by business, tourists and students.
Probation services have been restructured on time and within cost targets during a period of major change but operational problems and risks to further service transformation need to be resolved if re-offending levels are to reduce.
This guide is designed to provide a quick and accessible overview of the financial services regulation, redress and advice bodies, using our published work. It covers:
• The responsibilities 5 financial services regulation, redress and advice bodies and how they spend their money
• Interaction and cooperation between the 5 bodies
• Our recent findings and future challenges for the 5 bodies
• Case studies on the impact of payment protection insurance mis-selling on the Financial Ombudsman Service and the financial crisis on the Financial Services Compensation Scheme
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 Department of Health and NHS England are making progress but much remains to be done to improve access to mental health services.
Since 2010 there has been an increase in the number of companies in government at the same time as a reduction in the number of public bodies which raises issues of transparency, accountability, governance and review.
This Departmental Overview is one of 17 we have produced covering our work on each major government department. It summarises our work on the Department for Business Innovation & Skills 2012-13.
Wave 1 City Deals encouraged cities to develop capacity to manage devolved funding and increased responsibility. It is too early to tell what impact they will have on growth.
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 Charity Commission has made early progress in addressing NAO and Public Accounts Committee recommendations, but significant challenges remain.
The management of rail franchising has improved since 2012 however significant risks remain to achieving value for money as the programme develops.
The Department for Work and Pensions has not yet achieved value for money in managing contracted-out health and disability assessments.
It is important that the services for vulnerable people at the Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre are delivered ‘right first time’ and this did not happen here. Steps are now being taken to address the problems but 35% of the recommendations from Her Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons’ 2015 inspection have not yet been implemented.
Against a backdrop of increasing pressure on NHS finances, NHS England has not controlled the rising cost of specialised services.
Despite providing substantially increased funding for PIDG (up to £700 million by 2015), the Department has not exercised enough oversight to ensure value for money has been achieved.
The economic case for the smart metering programme remains positive but there are significant risks and challenges to successful implementation, which must be managed.
The Charity Commission is not regulating charities effectively. It fails to take tough action in some serious cases and makes poor use of its powers.
The Service has achieved value for money for debt advice but has not yet shown that its money advice is achieving value for money.
This new report responds to a request from the Environmental Audit Committee to examine local government and net zero.
The National Audit Office outlines eight principles that the government needs to consider if it is to achieve value for money when deciding prices in markets for public services.