The National Audit Office has today reported to Parliament that there are risks to value for money from the way the Legal Services Commission (the LSC) administers and procures legal aid for criminal cases. In 2008-09, the Commission spent more than £1.1 billion on criminal legal aid – legal assistance for people suspected of or […]
The National Audit Office reported today that the effective delivery of community order sentences could be improved to secure the full benefits of the scheme by the National Probation Service. Not all components of community orders are used in all probation areas. In addition, there is incomplete data on the cost of orders and the […]
This investigation covers how the UK government determines the amount of funding it allocates to the devolved administrations.
Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, in his annual review of the Northern Ireland Policing Board’s Best Value Performance Plan reported that this year’s Plan meets the statutory requirements and that the quality of the Plan, its performance information and its performance monitoring show a year on year improvement. Sir John has also reviewed […]
The Comptroller and Auditor General has qualified his audit opinion on the 2011-12 accounts of the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency.
This report covers the activities of HMRC before the introduction of the Welsh rates of income tax in April 2019.
The PSNI’s strategy to modernise and rationalise the police estate in Northern Ireland is leading to visible improvements, although there is still much work left to do, according to the National Audit Office. The plans to refurbish and build police stations, and review the need for others, are being taken forward against a challenging background. […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, today reported that the Northern Ireland Policing Board’s Best Value Performance Plan for 2004-05 generally meets the statutory requirements. To meet all requirements in future, it will need to make arrangements to assess the way in which the Board’s own functions are exercised. He also recommends that more […]
This report considers the administration of the Scottish income tax in 2017-18.
The Northern Ireland Department for Social Development has succeeded in significantly cutting the estimated amount of benefits paid incorrectly because of errors by officials. The Department estimates that, for benefits paid in 2003-04, overpayments and underpayments amounted to £13.4 million and £5.0 million respectively – down from £51.9 million and £5.5 million in 2002-03. However, […]
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn has qualified the Northern Ireland National Insurance Fund Account for 2002-03 because of the estimated high level of benefit being lost through fraud and error. This is the third year running for which Sir John has qualified his opinion on the account. The Northern Ireland Department […]
Sir John Bourn, the Comptroller and Auditor General and Head of the NAO, today published his first report on the Policing Board’s arrangements to secure continuous improvement in their work and in the work of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Under the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000, it is a new requirement which […]
The Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) are the very first audited set of accounts showing in one place the financial position of the whole public sector. However, the NAO considers that the picture is incomplete.
The New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA), a complex project to reform the way that electricity is traded in England and Wales, has been associated with a fall in the wholesale price of electricity, but the impact on the bills paid by many domestic consumers has been more limited, according to a report published to Parliament […]
The report focuses on how the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs is preparing to exit from the EU. It is part of a series of NAO briefings on the key bodies in the centre of government and the major spending departments that have to deliver Exit programmes.
20 December 2017
England and Wales have a good record in containing and eradicating major outbreaks of plant pests and diseases, according to a report today by the National Audit Office. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has a key role to play in maintaining this good record but there are several ways in which it […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today on the Summarised Accounts of the National Health Service in Scotland for 1998-99. The report describes the findings of the appointed auditors of the individual health bodies, discusses developments in accounting and financial control, considers the financial performance of the NHS in […]
Water and sewerage companies have taken action to remove the risk of sewer flooding from 3,300 properties in England and Wales since 2000. Ofwat has played an important role in achieving this reduction, according to a report published today by Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office. However, Ofwat and companies face a […]
The Scottish Executive and other Scottish public bodies have responded positively to a range of recommendations arising from value for money work on Scottish matters in the last two years, Sir John Bourn head of the National Audit Office reported to the Scottish Parliament today. Sir John’s report brings together the results of seven previously […]