Probation services have been restructured on time and within cost targets during a period of major change but operational problems and risks to further service transformation need to be resolved if re-offending levels are to reduce.
This guide is designed to provide a quick and accessible overview of the financial services regulation, redress and advice bodies, using our published work. It covers:
• The responsibilities 5 financial services regulation, redress and advice bodies and how they spend their money
• Interaction and cooperation between the 5 bodies
• Our recent findings and future challenges for the 5 bodies
• Case studies on the impact of payment protection insurance mis-selling on the Financial Ombudsman Service and the financial crisis on the Financial Services Compensation Scheme
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 Department of Health and NHS England are making progress but much remains to be done to improve access to mental health services.
It is important that the services for vulnerable people at the Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre are delivered ‘right first time’ and this did not happen here. Steps are now being taken to address the problems but 35% of the recommendations from Her Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons’ 2015 inspection have not yet been implemented.
The Charity Commission has made early progress in addressing NAO and Public Accounts Committee recommendations, but significant challenges remain.
If the government is serious about increasing its use of small and medium – sized enterprises (SMEs), it will need to focus on those areas where SMEs can deliver real benefits.
The management of rail franchising has improved since 2012 however significant risks remain to achieving value for money as the programme develops.
The Department for Work and Pensions has not yet achieved value for money in managing contracted-out health and disability assessments.
Against a backdrop of increasing pressure on NHS finances, NHS England has not controlled the rising cost of specialised services.
HS2 is a large, complex and ambitious programme which is facing cost and time pressures. The unrealistic timetable set for HS2 Ltd by the Department means they are not as ready to deliver as they hoped to be at this point.
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.
Since privatisation, Ofwat and Defra have overseen major improvements in water quality and service quality. Customers have seen a marked rise in bills but not the benefits of companies’ unexpected financial gains.
The NAO, the Better Regulation Executive (BRE) and the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO), both part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have published a survey looking at businesses’ perceptions of regulation.
The National Audit Office has today published its findings on the Civil Service Learning contract with Capita Business Services Ltd (Capita). The NAO’s enquiries address specific concerns from several people who raised different but overlapping concerns about the operation of the contract.
A plan by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills to reduce complexity and administrative burdens in the further education and skills sector, despite improving some processes, has had only limited impact on providers’ costs.
MOD has made good progress stabilising the equipment programme but needs to set out how a bespoke trading entity will transform Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) into the leading defence acquisition organisation by 2017.
The new system of regulating financial services will need to demonstrate in future that the cost of two regulators achieves value for money for customers.
There are some good examples across government of alternatives to regulation being used to achieve policy objectives. However more needs to done to share these examples to highlight when alternatives are most likely to work and how they should be designed.
We published two reports today – Following the discovery of widespread and deep-rooted weaknesses in the government’s management of contracts it is starting to improve how it manages its contracts.