Departments’ oversight of arm’s length bodies: a comparative study
Published on:There is no collective understanding of what type of oversight is appropriate and cost effective for different types of arm’s length bodies.
There is no collective understanding of what type of oversight is appropriate and cost effective for different types of arm’s length bodies.
This impacts case study shows how our reports pointing to the need for Department for Transport staff to improve their skills in managing complex procurements helped DfT to develop a Commercial Capability Strategy, increase leadership training and create a network for sharing advice.
It is one example of financial or non-financial benefits realised in 2014 as a result of our involvement, all of which are set out in our interactive PDF
The Department for Work and Pensions has successfully introduced automatic enrolment to workplace pensions for large and medium-sized employers. Significant risks remain.
The Department has made good progress since we last reported on Carrier Strike, however it still has a lot to do to meet its targets at the end of 2020.
The Department has committed electricity consumers and taxpayers to a high cost and risky deal in a changing energy marketplace. We cannot say the Department has maximised the chances that it will achieve value for money.
It is important that the DWP use the hard lessons it learned from implementing its recent programme of welfare reforms to improve how it manages change and anticipates risk.
The welfare cap is encouraging a greater understanding of spending on some benefits and tax credits across government, but it is important that processes for managing the cap are reliable.
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 incentives on government Accounting Officers to prioritise value for money are weak compared to those associated with the day-to-day job of satisfying Ministers.
The Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG) has achieved significant savings but further work should be done to improve the process of gathering and collating evidence.
An interactive summary of the NAO’s presentations at Civil Service Live events, 2015, on four pervasive issues blocking public service improvement.
HM Treasury and HMRC do not keep track of tax reliefs intended to change behaviour, or adequately report to Parliament on whether tax reliefs work as expected.
The new directorates that replaced the former UKBA have made progress in some areas but not across the whole business.
The purpose of this note is to update the Committee of Public Accounts on developments since the publication of the National Audit Office report in February, particularly the release of the Authority’s second annual report on 23 May.
June 2014.
The report covers HMRC’s progress in operating the PAYE service, its implementation of its new Real Time Information service and its performance in tax collection and in reducing error and fraud in personal tax credits.
Optimism bias in public sector projects is not a new phenomenon. But it is one that persists, frequently undermining projects’ value for money as time and cost are under estimated and benefits over estimated. This report uses our back catalogue to illustrate the consequences of over optimism. In doing so, we have identified some contributory factors – such as project complexity and an organisation’s culture of challenge.
This review of five major rail projects highlights lessons the Department for Transport should apply to current and future rail programmes.
The NAO has today published an update for the Public Accounts Committee, detailing developments in the management of the Sellafield site, the UK’s largest and most hazardous nuclear site, and the extent to which progress has been made in decommissioning and cleaning it up.
Defra, the Rural Payments Agency and Government Digital Service have not worked together effectively to deliver the Common Agricultural Policy Delivery Programme.
The new military flying training is 6 years delayed and there is much to do if the MoD is to get the planned benefits from its contractor.