The National Audit Office has today called for a step change improvement in how central government departments work with each other and with regional and local bodies, if the Government’s ambitious aspirations for the Thames Gateway region are to be realised. The Government has set out its vision to make the Thames Gateway, the area […]
Departments should check whether their policy-making and implementation processes are suitable and cost effective, and the Cabinet Office can assist by accelerating the identification and dissemination of good practice, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament. Departments spend some £350 billion a year on a range of services and […]
The acquisition of the Heart Hospital represented an entrepreneurial and novel approach to improving patient services, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today. The NHS acted quickly to take advantage of an unusual opportunity and acquired the hospital and its equipment at a good price. Activities at the Heart […]
The NAO Strategy 2011-12 to 2013-14 sets out how we will apply the unique perspective of public audit to help Parliament and government drive lasting improvement in public services.
Recent changes have allowed Government departments to make improved use of money, assets and other resources. Many departments have begun to take advantage of these tools but they can still do more to better manage what they have so that they can deliver high quality public services, Sir John Bourn, the head of the NAO, […]
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affair’s systems for identifying and tracking the 25 million cattle, sheep and pigs in England have achieved their initial objectives, according to the National Audit Office. More could be done, however, to realise other potential benefits from the systems and reduce costs. Defra’s plans for updating its identification and […]
The museums and galleries core funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport raised over £100 million in addition to their government grant last year. They used this income to help them invest in their collections, buildings and facilities and to promote access to their collections through financing touring exhibitions, education, and outreach work. Today’s […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reporting today on the top 20 defence equipment projects in demonstration and manufacture, told Parliament that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was expecting to meet the capability requirements of its customers, and difficulties on four projects predating the introduction of Smart Acquisition had been the primary […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Home Office will get what it wants at a good price from the PFI deal to provide serviced headquarters accommodation for 3450 Home Office and Prison Service staff, but risks remain. The Home Office is due to move into the new […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported the results of his examination of HM Customs’ systems for the assessment, collection and allocation of tax revenue during the year ending 31 March 2005. In 2004-05 Customs collected £120.7 billion (net) in taxes and duties. Sir John’s report focuses on Customs’ work to […]
NESTA has established generally sound approaches to selecting which projects to support and to managing its portfolio of awards, and two of its three funding programmes have done well to generate interest and applications. But, according to a report published today by Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, it needs to make […]
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s decision to provide additional public funding for the English national stadium project at Wembley is an example of well managed risk taking, Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office said today. The Department, working closely with Sport England, has thoroughly reviewed the project and taken appropriate […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that to build on the progress it has made in recent years The Royal Parks needs to continue to develop its core plans for promoting greater access to the Parks, strengthen the way it manages income generating activities and benchmark its performance […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office (NAO), has reported to Parliament on the outcome of financial audit work undertaken by the NAO in central government over the past year. Today’s report examines the progress made by government departments in a number of important areas. In 2001/02 resource accounts became the sole mechanism […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today on the progress that Departments have made in establishing robust data systems to measure and report performance against 2003-06 Public Service Agreement targets. This interim report draws on the NAO’s examination of the data systems used by seven Departments and the cross cutting Sure […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today on the mixed success with which the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is transposing European legislation uinto UK law and preparing for its implementation. Defra deals with more European legislation than any other government department, and its mixed success demonstrates how […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today on progress made by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) to improve the procurement of information technology (IT) systems by departments and agencies. He concluded that OGC has put structures in place to minimize the risk of future IT failure and that department and […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office (NAO), told Parliament today that the Prison Service had secured £1 million of the expected £10.7 million increase in returns to shareholders of Fazakerley Prison Services Limited, following the refinancing of the Fazakerley prison contract let under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). Further refinancings of PFI […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, today published a report on HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) accounts for the year 2005-2006. HMRC collected total revenue of some £404 billion. For the fourth year running, Sir John has qualified his opinion on the Trust Statement in respect of tax credits because of the likely level […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today on the support provided to MG Rover by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and other public bodies before and during the Company’s collapse in 2005, and on the effectiveness of plans to deal with and mitigate the consequences of the firm’s closure. […]