The Comptroller and Auditor General, Amyas Morse, has qualified his audit opinion on the regularity of the 2015-16 accounts of the Department for Work and Pensions. This is owing to the unacceptably high level of fraud and error in benefit expenditure, other than State Pension where the level of fraud and error is lower.
This report provides information on managing PFI contracts when they end and considers whether government is preparing for expiry appropriately.
Imagine being asked to design and provide a service that meets the needs of everyone in your street. This crossed my mind when the borough where I live in London became a surge testing location for coronavirus. For me that means producing a service that works for Margaret and David, the retired couple that have […]
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.
By operating in a more integrated way, government could reduce inefficiencies in public services and deliver a better service to citizens. A case study on the Whole-Place Community Budget pilots points to the potential benefits on offer where public services are integrated more effectively.
Benefits are expected to exceed costs slightly over the life of the systems, but there is uncertainty around whether the benefits will be realised
Devolution deals to devolve power from central government to local areas in England offer opportunities to stimulate economic growth and reform public services for local users, but the arrangements are untested and government could do more to provide confidence that these deals will achieve the benefits intended
This page is part of our successful commissioning toolkit. What are third sector organisations? ‘Third sector organisations’ is a term used to describe the range of organisations that are neither public sector nor private sector. It includes voluntary and community organisations (both registered charities and other organisations such as associations, self-help groups and community groups), social enterprises, mutuals and […]
Since privatisation, Ofwat and Defra have overseen major improvements in water quality and service quality. Customers have seen a marked rise in bills but not the benefits of companies’ unexpected financial gains.
This paper sets out how we constructed a counterfactual to establish how much water customers in England and Wales could have benefited from an alternative charging system between 2010/11 and 2014/15.
This report examines the performance, implementation, procurement and management of the Green Homes Grant scheme.
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.
My outdoor tap leaks. Not very much, just a small drip. And though I put a bucket underneath to catch the drips, I’ll admit that sometimes the bucket overflows before I can use the water in my garden. I know I should find out if it’s just a dodgy washer or I need a replacement […]
The National Audit Office (NAO) is the UK’s independent public spending watchdog. We support Parliament in holding government to account and we help improve public services through our high-quality audits.
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Amyas Morse, has qualified his audit opinion on the regularity of the 2014-15 accounts of the DWP, owing to the unacceptably high level of fraud and error in benefit expenditure.
The C&AG has published his audit opinions for 2018-19 on the 1993, 2003 and 2012 Child Maintenance Schemes.
The first in a series of blogs looking at the Commercial Lifecycle covers data.
This report examines whether the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund is likely to deliver value for money.
Our report examines whether MHCLG’s framework allows for the management of risks to local authorities from commercial property investment.
The NAO’s work includes looking at a huge range of government activities, and the setting up and managing of commercial arrangements are central to many of them. This became very clear when looking back at twenty years of our work auditing government’s spending and reporting on its value for money for taxpayers. Over this time, […]