Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn has reported to Parliament on the financial management of European Union funds. Today’s report highlights the main findings of the latest Annual Report by the European Court of Auditors (November 2002) which covers the management of the General Budget of the European Union for 2001. The […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) have made improvements to their regulation of the stewardship by Railtrack plc of the national railway network, but that much still needs to be done to provide a fully effective regulatory regime for the future. […]
The briefing has been prepared for the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee (the Committee) to support the Committee’s evidence session on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (the Department) Annual Accounts 2009-10 and the responsibilities of the Secretary of State.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today on programmes run by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to help English farm businesses adapt to changing markets and reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Farmers in the United Kingdom currently receive nearly £3 billion a year in subsidies […]
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.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Home Office, together with other organisations, has instigated a number of programmes which have helped reduce thefts of and from vehicles by 30 per cent since 1999. This is a significant achievement but he added that there is nevertheless scope to reduce […]
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, today reported to Parliament that he has qualified his opinion on the Lord Chancellor’s Department Appropriation Account due to limited evidence available to confirm that £633 million of criminal legal aid payments complied fully with legal aid regulations. He has also reported on control weaknesses in the Lord […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that he had identified five critical issues which departments must pay careful attention to if the extra £61 billion spent on improving public services over the next three years is to have its full impact. It is too early to tell whether […]
Since its creation in 2001, the Public Guardianship Office has improved the quality of information it receives on the stewardship of the financial affairs of people who lose mental capacity. It has begun to target its scrutiny, reducing the regulatory burden on some receivers deemed to be a lower risk, and in some cases where […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Private Finance Initiative deal for the new British Embassy in Berlin is likely to provide a suitable building at a price slightly lower than a comparable conventional procurement. The contract provides for the construction of a new Embassy building and its […]
With one of the longest coastlines in Europe and an economy that relies on shipping for 95 per cent of its visible trade, the UK is at particular risk from marine pollution, which can have serious consequences for people, property and the environment. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), an executive agency of the Department […]
There has been a reduction in the estimated loss of social security benefit through fraud and error compared to previous years, according to a National Audit Office report published today. However, the total amount of Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance overpaid in 2000-2001, over £1 billion, is still substantial. As a result, head of the […]
The Inland Revenue continued to provide an effective check over the assessment, collection and allocation of tax during the year 1999-00, according to the National Audit Office. A report to Parliament today by Comptroller and Auditor General Sir John Bourn points out that the Inland Revenue collected almost £200 billion tax and national insurance […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that trustee bodies administering charitable funds associated with the NHS have made substantial progress in adopting high standards of corporate governance and have adequate controls in place to ensure that business is properly conducted. Sir John concludes that the current arrangements for supervision […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that good progress has been made in recent years in increasing the overall employment rate for older people. The gap between the proportion of older people in work compared to the general working population has also narrowed by 1 per cent over […]
Following reforms to decision-making and the appeal process in social security benefits, introduced in 1999 by the Department for Work and Pensions, the number of appeals against decisions has fallen overall by around 15 per cent and waiting times for appeal hearings have been cut. Since the reforms, decision-making performance for some benefits, but not […]
The Inland Revenue’s administration of petroleum revenue tax – tax on the profits from production of North Sea oil and gas – is generally effective according to a report to Parliament today by head of the National Audit Office, Sir John Bourn. The National Audit Office report on the Inland Revenue’s management of petroleum revenue […]
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn today reported to Parliament on the propriety of the Department of Health’s award of a contract to PowderJect Pharmaceuticals to supply smallpox vaccine. The report also covers the procedures followed by the Department in purchasing emergency supplies of smallpox and anthrax vaccine; and the Department’s general […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, provided Parliament today with a ground breaking report explaining the National Audit Office’s approach to examining the value for money of deals under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). Having already published eight reports on major privately financed projects Sir John said the time was now right […]
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), the principal government body for enforcing ship safety standards, makes a major contribution to the UK’s ship safety record, now one of the best in the world. However, according to a report to Parliament today by Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, the MCA can increase […]