Devolution deals to devolve power from central government to local areas in England offer opportunities to stimulate economic growth and reform public services for local users, but the arrangements are untested and government could do more to provide confidence that these deals will achieve the benefits intended
Overall spending on discretionary local welfare support by central and local government has reduced since April 2013. The consequences of this gap in provision are not understood.
The first phase of the Care Act has been implemented well, but this places new responsibilities on local authorities whose core funding is being significantly reduced.
Over 10 million people who used public services (about 1 in 5) in the UK last year faced problems with the services. Detriment can and does occur. But users find the complaints and redress systems confusing.
Wave 1 City Deals encouraged cities to develop capacity to manage devolved funding and increased responsibility. It is too early to tell what impact they will have on growth.
The incentives on government Accounting Officers to prioritise value for money are weak compared to those associated with the day-to-day job of satisfying Ministers.
The Department for Communities and Local Government has taken steps since November 2014 to improve its understanding of new burdens on local authorities.
The Emergency Services Network is one of the most technologically advanced systems worldwide and is set to replace the existing emergency services communication system, Airwave. However several risks have been highlighted.
The Department has increased local authorities’ flexibility over their funding, but as a result has less information on how funds are being spent.
The Better Care Fund is an innovative idea but the quality of early preparation and planning did not match the scale of the ambition. Current plans forecast £314m of savings for the NHS rather than the £1 billion in early planning assumptions.
A programme to sell enough government land by March 2015 to build a potential 100,000 homes did not collect information on the amount of money raised or how many homes have actually been built. In future land sales, responsibility for monitoring what happens to land after disposal should be made clear.
The Help to Buy equity loan scheme is improving access to mortgage finance, but the scheme’s costs will be substantial.
In June 2011, the National Audit Office reported on the system for enforcing consumer law and the Government subsequently made a series of reforms to the consumer landscape. This update report summarises recent changes and sets out the proposed benefits to consumers, businesses and taxpayers as well as the possible risks to be managed.
Local authorities have worked hard to manage reductions in government funding, but the DCLG needs to be better informed about the situation across England.
There is wide variation in the extent to which £79 billion in central funding allocated to local health bodies differs from target allocations that are based on relative need.
• This is NAO’s first report on funding since the 2013 health reforms took effect. Where possible comparisons have been made with funding under the previous system set out in a 2011 NAO report.
The Department for Education is not meeting its objectives to improve the quality of care and the stability of placements for children in care.
Local authorities have worked hard to manage reductions in government funding, but the DCLG needs to be better informed about the situation across England.
It has not yet been demonstrated that funding mechanisms for supporting local economic growth are capable of delivering value for money.
This impacts case study shows how central government has responded to our identification of the need to have a better understanding of the implications on local service delivery when making funding decisions, and how local government has made use of our report.
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.
Improvements have been made to the running of the Regional Growth Fund, but there is still a significant amount of public money to allocate through the Fund.