Government forms filled in by citizens can be made shorter and much easier to use leading to better access to services and considerable efficiency gains, Sir John Bourn, the head of the NAO, reported to Parliament today. Forms remain essential to the delivery of a wide range of government services. If forms are well designed […]
In a report to Parliament today, head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn gave the results of his annual examination of the 19 summarised accounts which cover the financial activities of the NHS in England. Sir John’s opinion on each of the 19 summarised accounts was unqualified. The report drew attention, however, to […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Government’s investment in space, coordinated by the British National Space Centre (BNSC) Partnership, has a number of strengths, including lean, user-focused programmes built up from wide consultation, many of which have produced important scientific and commercial benefits. There is scope, however, to […]
A major initiative to secure better quality care by the NHS and improve patients’ confidence in its services has made early progress and is already delivering benefits. However, according to a report by the National Audit Office, progress in implementing ‘clinical governance’ is patchy, varying between and within NHS trusts and between the components of […]
The National Audit Office today reported the results of their examination of HM Customs and Excise’s systems to ensure the systems provide an effective check on the assessment, collection and allocation of tax revenue during the year ending 31 March 2000. The report includes details of a serious breakdown of controls in Customs which contributed […]
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 […]
Winding-up the affairs of The New Millennium Experience Company Limited (NMEC) was handled in a professional way, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today. Getting NMEC into the position where it was able to go in a solvent state into voluntary liquidation on 18 December 2001 was a major task. […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that in recent years the Ministry of Defence have produced fewer trained pilots than the Armed Services require, and some 45 a year (18 per cent) fewer than needed have entered operational service. This situation has contributed to a shortfall in operational pilots […]
In April 2000, three men were sentenced to prison terms for corruption in relation to the purchase of homes, between 1991 and 1995, by Focus Housing Association from a Birmingham property dealer. Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Corporation’s routine reviews of Focus during that period did […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that although the Private Finance Initiative deal for the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link was in many respects unique, the lessons to be learned from the project’s near collapse are not. The report makes three key points. In negotiating with the […]
The Medicines Control Agency (MCA) has a good track record, nationally and internationally, in protecting public health and in ensuring that medicines are in general safe, of good quality and effective if used properly. But, according to a National Audit Office report, it needs to do more to improve the quality of information and advice […]
It is important that organisations work well together and that departments tackle the barriers to joint working so that long lasting improvements are made to the quality of services that the public receive, Sir John Bourn, the Head of the NAO, reported to Parliament today. The report evaluates the achievements of 5 initiatives and highlights […]
This briefing has been prepared for the Defence Committee of the House of Commons to provide an overview of the work and performance of the Ministry of Defence in the financial year 2006-07 and subsequent months.
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 – most notably the development of corporate governance […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported the results of his examination of HM Customs and Excise’s systems for the assessment, collection and allocation of tax revenue during the year ending 31 March 2002. Customs collected £150 billion (gross) in revenue in 2001-2002. In April 2001 the Department reorganised along functional […]
Effective measures are now in place to ensure that blood is safe for transfusions. That is one of the main findings in a National Audit Office report into the National Blood Service. The report also concludes that, despite the long time taken by the Service since its creation in 1993 to make the transition from […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today published his report to Parliament on the results of his examination of the Public Health Laboratory Service Board Accounts for 1998-99. Sir John issued a report to Parliament on the account concerning the breakdown of financial controls following the contracting out by the Board of […]
This paper is a briefing for the Select Committee to provide an overview of the work and performance of the former Department of Trade and Industry in the financial year 2006-07 and subsequent months. It takes as its basis the Department’s Annual Report, drawing upon the work of the Select Committee and the National Audit Office (NAO), together with relevant findings and recommendations from other external and internal reviews of departmental performance.
A National Audit Office report to Parliament today on the handling of the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak showed that the outbreak cost the public sector over £3 billion and the private sector more than £5 billion. According to head of the NAO Sir John Bourn, lessons to be learned from the outbreak, unprecedented in […]
This briefing is prepared for the Public Administration Select Committee of the House of Commons to provide an overview of the work and performance of the Cabinet Office in the financial year 2006-07.