Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported the results of his examination of HM Customs and Excises systems for the assessment, collection and allocation of tax revenue during the year ending 31 March 2004. In 2003-04 Customs collected £162 billion (gross) in taxes and duties. Sir John’s report focuses on Customs’ […]
A major initiative to secure better quality care by the NHS and improve patients’ confidence in its services has made early progress and is already delivering benefits. However, according to a report by the National Audit Office, progress in implementing ‘clinical governance’ is patchy, varying between and within NHS trusts and between the components of […]
The Department for Work and Pensions have made good progress in tackling benefit fraud and estimating the level of fraud and error in key benefits, according to the National Audit Office. By March 2002 the Department had cut the estimated level of fraud and error in Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance by 24 per cent […]
Head of the National Audit Office, Sir John Bourn, reported to Parliament today that good progress has been made to improve the protection from violence given to NHS staff. However he said that more needs to be done particularly on risk assessment, staff training, follow up after an incident has been reported, and the establishment […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to parliament today that Regional Development Agencies have performed well in their first four years. In order to build on this success the relationship between RDAs and government must continue to evolve. The aim of the reports recommendations is to streamline bureaucracy and enable RDAs […]
Head of the NAO Sir John Bourn reported to Parliament today that he has qualified his opinion on the accounts of the Department for Work and Pensions. This is because of substantial levels of estimated losses from fraud and error in benefit expenditure, a significant limitation in the evidence made available to the NAO during […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, today welcomed the continued improvements made by departments in the quality of the accounts they submit for audit, although he noted that there was more they could do to avoid spending more resources than permitted by Parliament and to ensure that they were able to submit accounts for […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that while the Environment Agency provides well-managed and professional water resource management services there is scope to improve efficiency and realise net savings of some £450,000 a year on its activities in England, with a further potential saving of between £1 million to £2 […]
In the context of more than 1 billion people lacking access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion people lacking basic sanitation facilities, the Department for International Development’s (DFID’s) projects to improve access to water and sanitation in developing countries have been largely successful, the National Audit Office reports today. Between 1997 and 2002 DFID […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that Energywatch and Postwatch have achieved benefits for consumers but they need to do more to show the extent of these benefits. Over their first three years, Energywatch and Postwatch have successfully established their organisations, developed efficient systems to handle customer complaints and […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that Home Office grants of £927 million to Police Basic Command Units, Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Community Safety Partnerships in Wales to fund crime reduction work have contributed in part to a 22 per cent reduction in the number of […]
Sir John Bourn, the Head of the NAO, reported to Parliament today that there has been progress in capturing for the nation more of the economic and social benefits of scientific research funded by the taxpayer. Commercialisation can range from making research outputs available to all, free of charge, to forming companies to develop innovative […]
Today Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament on developments in the financial management of European Union funds. His report summarises the main findings of the latest Annual Report by the European Court of Auditors, published in November 2004, which covers the management of the General Budget of the European […]
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 […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that to build on the progress it has made in recent years The Royal Parks needs to continue to develop its core plans for promoting greater access to the Parks, strengthen the way it manages income generating activities and benchmark its performance […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the costs of this project had risen from £650 million to an estimated £933 million. Although the Ministry of Defence originally considered that it had transferred the risk of cost overruns to the private sector, in the end it funded most of […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Ministry of Defence has a good system for reporting the readiness of its Armed Forces, which continues to improve. More work is required, however, both to better define and measure its Public Service Agreement target for readiness, and to define and […]
The Office of Government Commerce has done well to negotiate software licensing agreements with IT suppliers that has secured savings for the taxpayer, Sir John Bourn, the Head of the National Audit Office, reported today. However, it needs to publicise the benefits of the agreement more widely. Software is vital for delivering services to the […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today on the transfer of social housing from local authorities to registered social landlords (RSLs). His report highlights improvements in the condition of transferred housing and the quality of services to tenants. The report also identifies ways in which the transfer programme could […]
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 […]