After a poor start, the performance of the Work Programme is at similar levels to previous programmes but is less than original forecast. The Department has struggled to improve outcomes for harder-to-help groups. The Programme has the potential to offer value for money if it can achieve the higher rates of performance the Department now expects.
The pension payments and Scheme liability are materially supported by employee records for the first time in two years, but underlying issues remain to resolve.
This privacy statement explains how the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) and the National Audit Office (NAO) use and protect any data they hold about you. This statement also summarises your rights in relation to that data.
We have published a series of reports which explore some of the major risks to public finances highlighted in the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA).
The Department for Work and Pensions has introduced the Work Programme quickly, in just over a year, and this has had benefits, but the speed with which it was launched has also increased risks. The Department and providers have made assumptions about how many people the Programme will get back into work but there is a significant risk that they are over-optimistic.
Former UKAEA employees who transferred to a privatised company spent a decade seeking resolution from government after their pensions fell in value.
The DWP has had to delay the Personal Independence Payment programme’s roll-out and reduce expected savings during this Spending Review period.
The Department for Work and Pensions will have to make rapid progress in reorganising the way it operates if it is to meet its target of cutting costs by £20 billion in four years while achieving substantial reform of the welfare system.
The NAO has published its report on the 2010-11 accounts of the Department for Work and Pensions.
The C&AG has qualified the Social Fund Account for the eighth consecutive year. The account has been qualified because of material levels of error in discretionary awards, which include Budgeting Loans, Crisis Loans and Community Care Grants, and in Funeral Expense Payments. He has also qualified, for the first time, his opinion on Cold Weather Payments.
This Departmental Overview is one of 17 we have produced covering our work on each major government department. It summarises our work on the Department for Work and Pensions during 2010-2011.
The DWP has reset Universal Credit on a sounder basis but at significant cost, by extending the time for implementation and choosing a more expensive approach.
We have published a series of reports which explore some of the major risks to public finances highlighted in the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA).
It will be difficult for government departments to achieve value for money from means-tested benefits unless government understands the impacts of means testing, learns from past experience and improves coordination between different benefits.
Have you ever had the frustration of having to provide the same information about yourself to different government services? Have you ever had to make decisions without information about what does and doesn’t work? Data is fundamental to delivering public services, improving systems and processes, and supporting sound decisions – but accessing accurate data is […]
The Comptroller and Auditor General has today reported on the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission’s Client Funds Account 2008-09 and 2009-10.
This paper sets out how we used instrumental variables to estimate the impact of benefit sanctions on the employment outcomes of sanctioned individuals in the Work Programme – a large welfare-to-work programme for the long-term unemployed.
The Pension Protection Fund, which protects private sector pensions, has delivered value for money in terms of investing efficiently and preparing adequately for the potential impact of future claims, a National Audit Office report says today. The Fund must take steps to ensure that it continues to deliver value for money in the future, particularly […]
The environment for government borrowing has become more challenging in recent years, a new National Audit Office (NAO) report finds. The independent public spending watchdog’s report Managing government borrowing examines how public bodies are pursuing the government’s debt management objectives, and how they manage the risks of borrowing1. The report found that government’s borrowing needs […]
The Whole of Government Accounts provide a unique perspective owing to their reach and approach to measuring the government’s financial performance and position.