This briefing paper presents the Regulatory Reform Committee with an overview of regulatory reform, the background to the system and the recent work that the National Audit Office had conducted in the area.
High profile incidents remind individuals and organisations just how important it is to manage potential conflicts of interest. In March 2017, the Court of the Bank of England commissioned a review of the institution’s approach to managing conflicts of interest. The review was prompted by the resignation of Charlotte Hogg who had been Deputy Governor […]
The Better Regulation Executive and government departments are not yet in a position to achieve value for money in their management of regulation. However, they have developed important elements of a structured approach to achieving sustainable reductions in regulatory costs and have delivered significant benefits.
Since 2005, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has incurred a total of £642 million in financial penalties relating to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in England.
Used appropriately, GPC can be a cost-effective way for government to procure goods and services. However, there is no up to date value-for-money case quantifying the benefits of the cards. There has also been a lack of clear central guidance on when the cards are the most appropriate way to procure goods and services.
The NAO has underlined the success of the 2012 Games and stressed the importance of building on that success to deliver legacy benefits.
Shortcomings must be addressed if value for money is to be secured in the future for users of social care “personal budgets” once they are extended to all eligible users by April 2013.
The first private company awarded a franchise to run an NHS hospital has made improvements in some clinical areas, but big financial challenges remain.
Two government programmes aiming to help families with multiple challenges, such as unemployment and anti-social behaviour, are starting to provide benefits but considerable challenges remain.
This looks at the chain of events which led to the government paying £711m in compensation to 34,000 pensioners who retired from the Police and Firefighters’ Pension Schemes between 2001 and 2006 without receiving their full pension entitlement. Due to the extent of the legal process in the case, some police and firefighters were retired for over 15 years before they received their full pension entitlement from government.
This impacts case study shows how our review of the government’s sale of shares in Royal Mail led to the appointment of an expert panel that made recommendations about the whole system of Initial Public Offerings.
It is one example of financial or non-financial benefits realised in 2014 as a result of our involvement, all of which are set out in our interactive PDF.
Despite some welcome improvements, HMRC’s performance in answering calls from the public is poor value for money.
This report examines progress in establishing Integrated Care Systems in England.
The MOD acted promptly to revert to the decision to buy the vertical take-off version of the Joint Strike Fighter but will have to manage significant risks.
Impact Assessments, used to assess the need for and the likely impact of proposed government policy interventions, do not yet consistently provide a sound basis for assessing the merits of different policy proposals. Further improvement in the quality and use of Impact Assessments is needed to achieve value for money.
The competition to let this franchise lacked oversight. The full cost to the taxpayer is unknown, but likely to be significant.
The BBC has reduced its spending on support functions but in future it should plan for cuts by clearly defining the level of service it requires and what that should cost.
The Department recognizes the potential for conflicts of interest in the new system for NHS commissioning. Public confidence that conflicts are well managed will be vital.
Defra’s 2013-14 accounts have not been qualified but the C&AG warns of the likelihood of the European Commission’s imposing significant financial penalties on the department in future.