The introduction by Customs in 2001 of gross profits tax for betting has been a success in encouraging the biggest bookmaking firms to retain their core operations in the UK. The challenge now for Customs is to address the new risks to duty revenue posed by the use of new forms of gambling such as […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the great majority of property owners who receive English Heritage grants are complying with requirements to allow public access. However, the access position remains unclear for a significant number of properties, and in a minority of cases practical obstacles were encountered when […]
The National Audit Office reported today that there was limited assurance that the price of the three Tube PPPs was reasonable, and some uncertainty about the eventual price although any price revisions have to meet tests of economy and efficiency. The complexity of the PPPs resulted from the scale of the deals, innovative output specifications […]
The National Audit Office reported today that there was limited assurance that the price of the three Tube PPPs was reasonable, and some uncertainty about the eventual price although any price revisions have to meet tests of economy and efficiency. The complexity of the PPPs resulted from the scale of the deals, innovative output specifications […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that new arrangements giving the National Audit Office direct access to the accounts and records of the Royal Household have worked well. This first examination found that good value for money had been achieved from the £7.2 million a year the Royal […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Emissions Trading Scheme has brought about a reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases and that the Scheme has benefited the UK economy. He noted that, whilst some reductions were likely to have happened without the Scheme, most of the reductions were generated […]
The innovative Individual Learning Accounts (ILA) scheme was aimed at widening participation in learning and helping to overcome financial barriers faced by learners, particularly amongst those who lack skills and qualifications. The scheme, which subsidised the costs of appropriate courses, was implemented too quickly and inadequately planned. The Department for Education and Skills had no […]
The Government has set challenging targets for public services to be delivered to citizens electronically as part of the wider Modernising Government agenda. The Prime Minister pledged that by 2002 a quarter of all transactions between citizens and government should be capable of being conducted ‘electronically’, rising to 50% by 2005 and 100% by 2008. […]
A National Audit Office report to Parliament today on the handling of the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak showed that the outbreak cost the public sector over £3 billion and the private sector more than £5 billion. According to head of the NAO Sir John Bourn, lessons to be learned from the outbreak, unprecedented in […]
The 1901 census website is now running successfully and problems originally encountered when the Public Record Office and QinetiQ implemented the site in January 2002 have been overcome. Moreover, according to todays report to Parliament by NAO head Sir John Bourn, the lessons learned will be valuable to government and other public sector bodies planning […]
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 […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that although he had qualified his audit opinion on whether the Ministry of Defence’s Resource Accounts for 2001-02 presented a true and fair view, the Department had made significant improvements since 2000-01. And he reported that the Department continues to make good […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, today reported that, following improvements in PFI financing terms, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust has shared in the gains from a refinancing of its early PFI hospital contract, but it continues to pay a premium in respect of the financing costs compared to current deals. […]
In recent years the Highways Agency has improved the condition of England’s motorway and trunk roads network and has also strengthened the management and delivery of its maintenance programme. But, according to a National Audit Office report, there is scope for the Agency to make further improvements in measuring the condition of the network, targeting […]
The head of the National Audit Office, Sir John Bourn, today reported to Parliament that the Department for Work and Pensions and their contractor Schlumberger have improved arrangements for the medical assessment of benefit claims since the National Audit Office reported on this subject in 2001. They have improved the speed of processing, the standard […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported that the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority’s productivity and processes compared well when benchmarked against three private sector insurance companies. The examination highlighted opportunities for the Authority to make improvements, and the report sets out 23 recommendations aimed at enhancing the quality of service provided […]
Competition helps provide value for money and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) uses non-competitive procurement only where there are compelling reasons. It may not always be practicable or sensible to use competitive procurement, however, and over the last five years one quarter of the annual £9 billion defence equipment and services budget has been spent […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Invest to Save (ISB) programme has fostered better working together by organisations, departments, agencies and local authorities. But there is less evidence of what the programme has achieved in terms of tangible outputs. In its study of the Invest to Save Budget, […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that the failure to introduce the Benefits Payment Card had cost the Department of Social Security some £127 million in nugatory system development. Delays in the Card programme, which was part of a pioneering Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project designed also to […]
According to a report today by the head of the National Audit Office, Sir John Bourn, the Inland Revenue have improved the way they recover debts in recent years but they could make further improvements to reduce debts owed by taxpayers. The Inland Revenue collected £219 billion in tax and National Insurance Contributions in 2002-03. […]