The National Audit Office outlines ten principles that the government needs to consider if it is to achieve value for money when using markets to deliver public services.
Full cost recovery remains an important principle for financial relationships between government and the third sector, but government departments have found difficulties in translating the principle into practice, according to a review published today by the National Audit Office. Today’s review examines the progress made by central government departments in ensuring that, by April 2006, […]
This page is part of our successful commissioning toolkit. When you are establishing the outcomes for your programme, you may draw on a number of sources: Needs assessment. What does research show about the needs of your target client group? For example, if one of the main needs is a higher rate of vaccination among the children […]
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 briefing is prepared for the Communities and Local Government Committee of the House of Commons to provide an overview of the work and performance of the Department for Communities and Local Government in the financial year 2006-07 and subsequent months.
Presenting the report to Parliament Sir John Bourn, the head of the NAO, recognised the effort and resources being put into boosting central government presence on-line and in promoting e-government among local authorities. The Office of the e-Envoy has given a clear cultural lead from the centre to departments developing e-business initiatives. But to maximise […]
This page is part of our decision support tool. Large scale contracts can bring benefits through reduced procurement and contract management costs, but they do not always offer the best value for money and may, in the long term, reduce the diversity of the supplier base. You should consider whether the contract should be divided […]
This page is part of our successful commissioning toolkit. Within a public sector organisation, commissioning and establishing good financial relationships with third sector organisations (TSOs) involves: people at different levels – from senior officials, acting as Senior Responsible Owners (SROs) of a programme, to staff responsible for programme implementation; and people with different functions – while […]
In the three years since the Royal Household took over responsibility for managing its own air and rail travel, the cost of such travel has reduced by two thirds. However, as a result of the National Audit Office’s enquiries, the basis of charging by the Ministry of Defence for royal use of the RAF’s 32 […]
Consumers spend some £400 billion each year on goods and services bought from the private sector. The Audit Commission and the National Audit Office have concluded that there is scope for a real improvement in the way in which consumers’ interests are protected. In a joint initiative the two audit organisations have looked at consumer […]
Evidence from 12 large national charities shows that their delivery of public services could be undermined and limited by the complexity of the arrangements by which they receive public funding. Today’s report by the National Audit Office found that charities’ funding relationships with public bodies, including central government departments, local authorities and health trusts can […]
This report reviews government’s progress in improving the planning and spending framework since we last reported in July 2016.
This report examines whether the government is likely to meet its ambitions for children and young people’s mental health services.
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 […]
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 […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to parliament today that there are early indications that the New Deal for Communities programme, under the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, is helping to tackle the problems of deprived communities and, despite some difficulties that have been encountered, the programme holds potential for […]
The decline in quality of urban green space in England – including urban squares, parks, green corridors and nature reserves – has been halted in most areas and there are signs of recovery in many places. According to today’s report to Parliament by head of the National Audit Office, Sir John Bourn, initiatives led by […]
There is a significant risk that local authorities in England will fail to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill by enough for the UK to meet EU targets, according to a report by Parliament?s spending watchdog. The Government intends to penalise local authorities who fail to make their share of the required […]
The National Audit Office’s report finds that London & Continental Railways (LCR) successfully completed the construction of Section 1 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) on time and at a cost slightly below the target set in the 1998 restructuring. Drawing on the reasons for this achievement, the NAO report highlights lessons for other […]
This briefing paper is provided in response to a request from the Environmental Audit Committee that the National Audit Office provide information on local authorities and climate change.