The successful introduction of IT systems is a crucial element in major Government programmes to deliver better services to the public -whether through providing new services, making existing services more efficient and responsive to citizens’ needs, or improving organisational performance. A report published today by the National Audit Office identifies common threads in IT-enabled programmes […]
This report examines the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s management of the renegotiated contract in place with Cavendish Fluor Partnership.
This briefing was prepared for the House of Commons Defence Committee to help inform its inquiry into the education of Service children, its third in a series of inquiries looking at the workings of the Armed Forces Covenant.
A large proportion of schools in England provide high standards of education, with pupil attainment improving in primary and secondary schools. However, some schools are performing less well. The Department for Education and Skills and Ofsted use several definitions to identify schools that are performing poorly and need additional support; among the 1,557 schools included […]
The Building Schools for the Future programme aims to rebuild, refurbish and provide new Information Technology for all 3,500 secondary schools in England by 2020. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) underestimated how long it would take to launch the programme and build the schools, though the speed of delivery has compared well […]
This report examines whether the Department for Education is supporting disadvantaged families effectively through free early education and childcare entitlements.
This report assesses whether the apprenticeships programme is providing value for money.
More employers in England need to be persuaded of the value to their businesses of employment-related education and skills training, according to the National Audit Office. Today’s report to Parliament recommends that the ways in which employers get advice and information be simplified; that the emphasis should be on flexible and affordable training that employers […]
This investigation describes the events surrounding the appointment and dismissal of the Student Loans Company’s former chief executive officer. It sets outs the Department for Education’s role in oversight of the Company and how it responded to the concerns raised by two Company staff.
This report focuses on the arrangements for converting schools to academies. We assess the Department for Education’s approach and the extent of conversion; the robustness, cost and speed of the conversion process; and the availability of sponsors and multi-academy trusts to support schools to convert to academies.
The Ministry of Defence programme to replace hundreds of different IT systems with a single, secure, high quality computer infrastructure is based on a sound rationale and convincing business case. According to a National Audit Office report issued today, the Defence Information Infrastructure Programme (DII) has delivered important benefits, but has run into implementation difficulties, […]
Amyas Morse, Comptroller and Auditor General has qualified his audit opinions on the National College for Teaching and Leadership’s (NCTL) 2016-17 Accounts due to a limitation in the scope of his audit of the regularity of the NCTL’s grant expenditure.
11 January 2018
The Highways Agency successfully transferred to the private sector the risks associated with procuring a digital information system for England’s motorway network. The procurement lasted five years, however, over twice as long as the Agency originally expected, and two well qualified potential bidders dropped out during a 17 month short listing process, leaving just two […]
The Government’s investment in large scientific facilities is starting to deliver a significant programme including such projects as the research ship RRS James Cook and the Diamond Synchrotron light source, according to an NAO report published today. Some project teams, however, have significantly underestimated the likely running costs of facilities and more attention needs to […]
Delivering the National Programme for IT in the NHS is proving to be an enormous challenge. All elements of the Programme are advancing and some are complete, but the original timescales for the electronic Care Records Service, one of the central elements of the Programme, turned out to be unachievable, raised unrealistic expectations and put […]
Each year the 384 further education colleges in England spend £1.6 billion on a range of goods and services from books and stationery to examination fees and energy bills. Some colleges recognise the benefits of introducing more efficient and effective processes, but many need to improve their processes substantially, and could contribute to plans to […]
A report by the National Audit Office today has highlighted the major challenge faced by the Department for Education and Skills in reducing pupil absence from schools. The Department, together with local authorities and schools, has made some progress in reducing total absence. At the same time, there has been no decline in unauthorised absence, […]
This investigation focuses on the circumstances relating to the monitoring of Learndirect Ltd by the Education and Skills Funding Agency, the inspection of the company by Ofsted, and the funding of the company by various government bodies.
NESTA has established generally sound approaches to selecting which projects to support and to managing its portfolio of awards, and two of its three funding programmes have done well to generate interest and applications. But, according to a report published today by Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, it needs to make […]
Government efforts to improve the quality and take-up of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills have yielded some positive results but there remains an urgent need for departments to set out a shared view of what they are trying to achieve and a co-ordinated plan for achieving it.