The FCO did well in 2009-10 in quickly bringing its expenditure down to within its budget. However, measurement and evaluation were limited. The FCO’s approach to cost reduction must now be fully strategic and sustainable. It will be vital to avoid damaging value for money through over-simplistic cuts.
There are major risks the Department of Energy and Climate Change must address to achieve value for money from its £11.3 billion national programme to install ‘smart’ electricity and gas meters in all homes and smaller non-domestic premises in Great Britain from 2014 to 2019.
This report assesses the Ministry of Defence’s approach to reducing and reforming its civilian workforce.
Ofcom has saved some £23 million over the last five years. However, with its complex remit across the telecommunications sector, Ofcom needs a better articulation of the intended outcomes of its activities and how its work achieves those outcomes.
The government’s approach to managing the risks to schools’ financial sustainability cannot be judged to be effective or providing value for money until more progress is made.
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.
Hospital productivity has fallen over the last ten years. There have been significant increases in funding and hospitals have used this to deliver against national priorities, but they need to provide more leadership, management and clinical engagement to optimise the use of additional resources and deliver value for money.
Most PFI hospital contracts are well-managed and the evidence indicates that they are currently achieving the value for money expected when the contracts were signed. There continue to be risks, however, to the long-term value for money of these contracts.
Amyas Morse, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) of the National Audit Office, has reported on the 2017-18 accounts of HM Revenue & Customs. His report focuses on tax revenue; Personal Tax Credits and Child Benefit error and fraud; and HMRC’s digital transformation programme.
The Department of Health has developed an ambitious and comprehensive strategy for dementia. However, there has not yet been a robust approach to implementation, according to a National Audit Office report published today. Despite the Department stating, since 2007, that dementia is now a national priority, it has not been given the levers or urgency […]
Schools, especially secondary schools, face real challenges in retaining and developing their teachers. National data suggest progress but mask significant local variation.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has adequate evidence to assess the BBC’s efficiency as part of the Department’s consideration of the next licence fee settlement. As part of the process of setting the level of the television licence fee from April […]
The first Road Investment Strategy represents an important step forward towards better long-term planning of the strategic road network. However, the speed with which it was put together created risks to deliverability, affordability and value for money.
Amyas Morse, the Comptroller and Auditor General, has today issued a report on the 2016-17 accounts of HM Revenue & Customs.
This memorandum has been prepared for the Health Committee to support its review of public expenditure. It sets out how the NHS, supported by the Department of Health, plans to deliver efficiency savings of up to £20 billion by 2014-15.
Funding for ongoing health care is a complex and highly sensitive area, which can affect some of the most vulnerable people in society and those that care for them.
Red Dragon – a project by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), Welsh Assembly Government and the then Welsh Development Agency (the Welsh Authorities) to provide modern aviation repair facilities at St Athan, South Wales – has cost the taxpayer around £113 million, although it was meant to have saved MOD money and protected jobs in […]
In May 2012, the Department of Transport expected the tram-train scheme to be completed by Dec 2015. It is now expected to be completed in May 2018.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that, halfway into the three-year efficiency programme, government departments have reported £13.3 billion in annual efficiency savings, 62 per cent of the £21.5 billion target. But departments’ progress towards achieving their individual targets varies, indicating that some departments still have a lot […]
By reducing the number of its offices and moving to a regional centre model HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) hopes to significantly reduce its running costs and modernise the way it works. HMRC’s original plan has proved unrealistic and is now reconsidering the scope and timing of the programme. Any changes will need to be carefully managed to avoid diminishing the long term value of the strategy.