The Department for Work and Pensions has made significant progress in delivering services through contact centres so that they are delivering improvements in value for money, but needs to continue to tackle a variety of barriers to exploit their full potential, according to a National Audit Office report published today. The Department’s 60 contact centres […]
A new traffic scheme in Dunstable has not delivered the expected benefits, according to a report by the National Audit Office published today. Dunstable town centre suffers severe traffic congestion, due to limited road capacity and high volumes of heavy goods vehicles, causing poor air quality. The Dunstable A5 queue relocation scheme was designed to […]
The National Audit Office reported to Parliament today the results of its examination of the National Programme for IT in the NHS. The Programme’s scope, vision and complexity are wider and more extensive than any ongoing or planned healthcare IT programme in the world and it represents the largest single IT investment in the UK […]
The process for setting the London 2012 Games budget has been thorough, the National Audit Office says today, but the level of public funding has increased greatly, and significant areas of uncertainty remain including the finalisation of the design of venues and the intended wider benefits. These are the main findings in a new report […]
The Child Support Reforms introduced in 2003 were a final but, in the event, unsuccessful attempt to deliver the policy behind the creation of the Child Support Agency in 1993. With hindsight the Child Support Agency was never structured in a way that would enable the policy to be delivered cost-effectively. While the Reforms have […]
The National Audit Office’s report finds that London & Continental Railways (LCR) successfully completed the construction of Section 1 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) on time and at a cost slightly below the target set in the 1998 restructuring. Drawing on the reasons for this achievement, the NAO report highlights lessons for other […]
In December 2015 a five year contract, worth around £800 million between UnitingCare Partnership and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough clinical commissioning group collapsed after only 8 months because it ran into financial difficulties. NAO examined the design, procurement and operation of the contract and the events that led to its termination.
The government’s reform programme to improve attainment and participation in education and training for 14 to 19 year olds has wide support at local level, including for the new Diplomas, which seek to blend general education with applied learning. The National Audit Office has today reported that the reform programme has met its key milestones […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) initiative, launched in 2001, is an effective means of improving primary health and social care. The LIFT model has a number of strengths: it takes a long term strategic approach to local health provision which combines the […]
The National Audit Office has urged the NHS to ensure that a focus on quality and safety is at the top of the agenda in primary care. In a report out today, the NAO says that almost all primary care trusts (PCTS) have clinical governance structures and processes in place that should assure quality and […]
The Ministry of Defence’s privatisation of the defence technology business QinetiQ safeguarded the viability of a business of national strategic importance and generated significant proceeds for the taxpayer. However, the NAO believes the taxpayer could have received more money from the deal. Risks remain which the MoD must manage carefully if long term value for […]
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. […]
HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC’s) contract with Synnex-Concentrix UK Ltd was terminated in November 2016. The contract was designed to add capacity to HMRC’s programme of interventions to prevent or detect error and fraud in personal tax credits awards. HMRC estimated that the contract would save £1 billion over its three year life time and an estimated £193 million, excluding Concentrix’s costs, had been saved by the time of contract termination.
The NAO review looked at what the BBC is doing to maximise the efficiency of radio production across its Network and Nations radio stations, focusing on the use of cost comparisons for similar programme types within the BBC stations and with commercial competitors, the BBC’s efficiency plans and the BBC’s assessment of the impact of efficiency initiatives on performance.
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 […]
An update report by the NAO identifies that the government has secured gains of £137 million from PFI debt refinancings under new arrangements introduced by the Treasury in 2002. These new arrangements followed previous reports by the NAO and the Public Accounts Committee that highlighted the opportunities for the private sector to benefit from refinancing […]
More employers in England need to be persuaded of the value to their businesses of employment-related education and skills training, according to the National Audit Office. Today’s report to Parliament recommends that the ways in which employers get advice and information be simplified; that the emphasis should be on flexible and affordable training that employers […]
Too many family breakdown cases are going to court rather than being settled through mediation, the National Audit Office has today reported. Family breakdown cases which are resolved through professional mediation are cheaper and quicker to settle. And academic research shows that they secure better outcomes, particularly for children, as they are less acrimonious. However, […]
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn today reported to Parliament on the National Insurance Fund (GB) account 2003-2004. This account is the responsibility of the Inland Revenue and benefit payments are made from the Fund by the Department for Work and Pensions. Sir John has qualified the National Insurance Fund Account in […]
The Department for International Development’s (DFID’s) use of budget support is helping developing country governments to build their capacity and expand basic services. But, according to a report out today by the National Audit Office, evidence on whether budget support has yielded better value for money than other forms of aid is not conclusive. While […]