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 […]
Affordable housing is a priority for local authorities and Government, with £3.3 billion being invested between 2004 and 2006, and further increases planned. Most local authorities believe, however, that they will not meet the need for affordable housing in the next three years. This was the key finding of a study undertaken by the Audit […]
The housing association sector and the Housing Corporation, the sector’s regulator, are facing new and more complex financial risks, according to the National Audit Office. The Housing Corporation has started to reform the way in which it regulates associations, known as Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), but there is scope to improve regulation further. According to […]
This report reviews developments in the sector and examines whether the Department, along with other departments with responsibility for local services, understands the impact of funding reductions on the financial and service sustainability of local authorities.
This report covers recent trends in pressures on children’s social care demand and activity and national and local government’s response.
How NHS England has handled a backlog of 374,000 items.
For combined authorities to deliver real progress they will need to demonstrate that they can drive economic growth and contribute to public sector reform.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament that he has qualified his opinions on the above accounts because the Fire Service College could not produce reliable costing information that would confirm whether it had set its fees and charges in accordance with the Treasury Minute which defined the College’s financial objectives.
This report provides information on managing PFI contracts when they end and considers whether government is preparing for expiry appropriately.
This briefing has been prepared for the Communities and Local Government Select Committee on the performance of the Department for Communities and Local Government (the Department) in the 2008‑09 financial year and subsequent months to August 2009.
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has made progress in setting up its new programme to release enough public sector land for 160,000 homes by 2020 but the programme has had a relatively slow start.
Homelessness has increased across all measures since 2010, with many local authorities now seeing it as a risk to their financial sustainability.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that contracts agreed by the Home Office in 2000-01 to provide accommodation for asylum seekers have not always proved value for money. The Home Office’s National Asylum Support Service provides accommodation for asylum seekers who are destitute, or likely to become destitute, while their […]
The need for housing in England has in recent years grown faster than its supply, and housebuilding needs to increase across the country.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that 23 per cent (over 14,000 houses) of the family quarters estate held in Great Britain by the Ministry of Defence (the Department) was vacant, costing some £39 milliona year in rent and maintenance. The Executive disposed of nearly 2,000 houses in […]
This briefing has been prepared for the Communities and Local Government Select Committee to provide an overview of the work and performance of the Department for Communities and Local Government (the Department) in the financial year 2007-08 and subsequent months. It takes as its basis the Department’s Annual Report 2008, drawing upon the work of the National Audit Office (NAO) together with relevant material from other external and internal reviews of departmental performance.
DCLG has made good progress in its design of 100% local business rates retention but faces a challenging timescale for delivery.
The role and remit of Local Enterprise Partnerships has grown since 2010, but the approach taken by DCLG to overseeing Growth Deals risks future value for money.