Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn has today reported to Parliament that he is qualifying his opinion on the accounts of the Department for Work and Pensions. This is because of substantial levels of estimated losses from fraud and error in benefit payments and material uncertainties about the level of debt resulting […]
Government-led initiatives to help unemployed people find work are having a real impact. Programmes such as the New Deal have helped reduce the number of people on benefit, and the average length of claims. However, too many people still do not stay in work once they have found it and more now needs to be […]
We welcome the Treasury’s continuing commitment to improving the timeliness and content of the WGA.This will enable the Treasury to manage public finances better.
The Pension Service has made real and substantial progress since 2002 in helping pensioners to secure their entitlements using new and well thought through approaches, but will need to build on this work to improve take-up still further. A report today by the National Audit Office highlights the need to develop local work to reach […]
This page is part of our decommissioning toolkit. Commissioners and providers need to be clear about the costs, savings and benefits of providing a service if they are to avoid poor decommissioning decisions. Understanding costs should include an understanding of direct costs, indirect costs (including overheads), short-term and long-term costs (such as the rent on […]
This investigation sets out how the Department for Education set up and implemented the free school meals voucher scheme.
Stronger financial management will be needed in departments if they are to speed up the restructuring of service delivery.
The Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG) has achieved significant savings for the taxpayer and has improved the process of calculating government savings.
This is the second report on Agile delivery in which we aim to provide practical support to those in publicly funded bodies who are using or considering using the approach in business change programmes.
Government is continuing to make extensive use of higher rate telephone numbers for customer telephone lines, despite efforts by departments to reduce their use.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has made progress in improving the design of some leaflets but could go further to make them easier for the public to understand and get hold of, according to a National Audit Office report published today. The report also found that the DWP could improve how it checks […]
The National Audit Office has reported today that Government departments and local health and social care organisations do not have enough information on numbers of adults with autism. They also lack a full understanding and awareness of the condition, limiting their ability to plan and deliver services effectively. Autism, which includes Asperger syndrome, is a […]
The Whole of Government Accounts consolidates the public sector’s accounts to produce a picture of the UK’s public finances.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has made progress in improving the design of some leaflets but could go further to make them easier for the public to understand and get hold of, according to a National Audit Office report published today. The report also found that the DWP could improve how it checks […]
This report looks at how effectively government met the needs of clinically extremely vulnerable through the shielding programme.
The Better Regulation Executive is currently reviewing controls on regulation. This document is the National Audit Office’s submission to that review. It is based on a combination of our previous work and new work with five case study departments earlier this year.
The government now accepts the urgent need for a skilled cross-departmental leadership group – but this requires changing the long-standing culture of the Senior Civil Service.
The UK has levels of social security fraud and error which are similar to those in comparable countries, but the Department for Work and Pensions has a better understanding than other nations of the problems and is doing more to tackle them. A report by the National Audit Office, based on research carried out by […]
Jobcentre Plus personal advisers provide an effective and highly valued service in helping people looking for work. There are over 9,000 personal advisers who conducted 10.8 million interviews last year with people looking for work. The feedback from those they help is positive and suggests they are an effective method of support in helping people […]