Sir John Bourn, the head of the National Audit Office, has qualified his opinion on the 1999-2000 accounts of the Ordnance Survey, the government Agency responsible for the official mapping of Great Britain. In his report to Parliament on the Agency’s first set of accounts as a Trading Fund, Sir John said that he had […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today welcomed progress made by the Prison Service in introducing programmes designed to help reduce the risk of reoffending but said there needs to be greater consistency in their provision across prisons. Currently around 58 per cent of prisoners are reconvicted within two years of being […]
Student achievement rates in English higher education institutions have remained high during a period of considerable expansion of student numbers, although rates vary widely between institutions. The higher education sector will have to recruit and retain more students from hitherto poorly represented social groups and help them to succeed if the government’s learning targets are […]
The Ministry of Defence has done much to improve the management of the major repair and overhaul of land equipment but there is more to do, including addressing the future role and shape of its in-house provider, the Army Base Repair Organisation (ABRO), Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today. […]
Head of the National Audit Office, Sir John Bourn, reported today that the Government had made good progress in the development of policy for older people, but should build on this, in particular, by publishing an overall strategy to co-ordinate work across departments, and by ensuring better feedback to older people on how services are […]
The successful commercialisation of intellectual property in agricultural research requires identifying the best opportunities for commercial exploitation of publicly financed research; obtaining further funds to develop and protect ideas; and managing risks when making deals and establishing spin-out companies. These points are brought out in a National Audit Office report today on the performance of […]
Sir John Bourn, the Head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that Exercise “Saif Sareea” II, held in Oman in 2001, successfully demonstrated that the United Kingdom is capable of mounting a balanced, coherent force over a long distance. Among the United Kingdom’s allies, only the United States has shown that it could […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reporting today on the implementation of Integrated Project Teams1 (IPTs) by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) told Parliament that the teams had been introduced rapidly and successfully but needed to evolve further. He also reported that firm direction was now needed from the MoD to maintain […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, although meeting European requirements, can enhance the effectiveness of its enforcement of fisheries regulations. This would support efforts to improve sustainability and compliance with the Common Fisheries Policy. Some fish stocks are under […]
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn reported to Parliament today that, while there have been real improvements in the management of health and safety risks to staff in NHS trusts, progress overall is patchy. The number of reported accidents is increasing, the gap between the best and worst performing trusts is widening […]
NHS Direct, the national telephone healthcare advice service operated by nurses, has achieved a high level of customer satisfaction since its introduction. The service, which has been fully available throughout England and Wales since November 2000, has a good safety record. Evidence at the local level suggests that it can help reduce demand on healthcare […]
The Scottish Executive and other Scottish public bodies have responded positively to a range of recommendations arising from value for money work on Scottish matters in the last two years, Sir John Bourn head of the National Audit Office reported to the Scottish Parliament today. Sir John’s report brings together the results of seven previously […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that the Radiocommunications Agency* has successfully entered into a partnership with CMG plc**, a global Information and Communications Technology group, which could result in significant financial savings. In June 1998 the Agency and CMG plc established a joint venture company, Radio Spectrum […]
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 […]
Scottish Enterprise’s Skillseekers programme had made considerable progress in delivering Vocational Qualifications for young people at reducing unit cost. There are, however, a number of ways that Scottish Enterprise and Local Enterprise Companies (LECs) can build on their successes, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to the Scottish Parliament today. Skillseekers […]
The £22.5 billion auction of radio spectrum for the third generation of mobile telephones was well designed and efficient, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today. Key success factors were that the Radiocommunications Agency marketed the opportunity and consulted the Industry extensively before the auction, rehearsed it, managed the bidding […]
More needs to be done to encourage older people – an increasingly large proportion of the population – to use government e-services if those services are to provide value for money, according to the National Audit Office. The government set itself a target that everyone who wants access to the internet has it by the […]
The Department of Trade & Industry (the DTI)’s approach to the Post Office’s purchase of German Parcel for £289 million was reasonable under the circumstances, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today. The Post Office wanted to buy German Parcel and the DTI had the responsibility for overseeing the […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that the Gaming Board could benefit both taxpayers and the gaming industry by making further improvements to its regulatory work. The NAO looked at whether the Board could improve its performance by: removing unnecessary regulation and relying more on the regulatory and […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the prevalence of obesity in England had tripled over the last 20 years and continues to rise. Most adults in England are now overweight, and one in five is obese. Producing the first authoritative estimates of the costs and consequences of obesity […]