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.
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.
The Compact is a voluntary agreement that sets out shared principles for effective partnership working between the government and voluntary and civil society organisations in England. This report examines departments’ progress in implementing the recommendations in our 2012 report on the Compact.
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 management of rail franchising has improved since 2012 however significant risks remain to achieving value for money as the programme develops.
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.
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 Department for Work and Pensions has not yet achieved value for money in managing contracted-out health and disability assessments.
Mistakes in the original procurement and contract management of an IT system, designed to extract data from GP practices, contributed to losses of public funds, through asset write-offs and settlements with suppliers.
Against a backdrop of increasing pressure on NHS finances, NHS England has not controlled the rising cost of specialised services.
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.
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.
The MoD’s Equipment Plan appears more stable than last year and progress has been maintained, but the Department will need to remain vigilant with regard to future cost increases.
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.
The Home Office spent at least £830 million between 2003 and 2015 on the e-borders programme and its successors, but has failed, so far, to deliver the full vision. We cannot, therefore view e-borders as having delivered value for money.
After a poor start, the performance of the Work Programme is at similar levels to previous programmes but is less than original forecast. The Department has struggled to improve outcomes for harder-to-help groups. The Programme has the potential to offer value for money if it can achieve the higher rates of performance the Department now expects.
The MOD decision to reduce the size of the regular Army and increase the number of trained Army reserves was taken without appropriate testing of feasibility or evaluation of risk.
We publish our examination of the assumptions made by the MOD in its annual statement of its 10-year equipment plan.
Payment by results (PbR) schemes are hard to get right, and are risky and costly for commissioners. Credible evidence for claimed benefits of PbR is now needed.