The Prison Service has made significant progress in the way it manages its buying of goods and services such as food, clothing and utilities, the National Audit Office has today reported. In 2003 the National Audit Office found that the Prison Service’s procurement function was “fragmented and costly to deliver”. Since this report, the Prison […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that Home Office grants of £927 million to Police Basic Command Units, Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Community Safety Partnerships in Wales to fund crime reduction work have contributed in part to a 22 per cent reduction in the number of […]
This report examines whether the government tackles serious and organised crime in an effective and coherent way.
Defendants on bail who do not turn up for their court hearings cause distress and inconvenience to victims and witnesses, delay justice and undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system. Tackling the problem of defendants who fail to attend court will require concerted action by the criminal justice agencies, according to the National Audit […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, reported today that sick leave in the National Probation Service is running at an average of 12.3 days a year for each member of staff, directly costing £31.6 million. The difference between what is being achieved and the Service’s target of nine days amounts to 66,420 working […]
In this report we outline what HM Courts and Tribunals Service’s (HMCTS) change portfolio to modernise and upgrade the justice system will deliver, consider early progress against plans and explore how HMCTS and its partners have managed the change portfolio and the risks it faces in the future.
Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, today reported that the Northern Ireland Policing Board’s Best Value Performance Plan for 2004-05 generally meets the statutory requirements. To meet all requirements in future, it will need to make arrangements to assess the way in which the Board’s own functions are exercised. He also recommends that more […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Home Office, together with other organisations, has instigated a number of programmes which have helped reduce thefts of and from vehicles by 30 per cent since 1999. This is a significant achievement but he added that there is nevertheless scope to reduce […]
The National Audit Office has prepared this briefing for the Home Affairs Select Committee to support the Committee’s inquiry into the new landscape of policing.
Since its creation in 2001, the Public Guardianship Office has improved the quality of information it receives on the stewardship of the financial affairs of people who lose mental capacity. It has begun to target its scrutiny, reducing the regulatory burden on some receivers deemed to be a lower risk, and in some cases where […]
There were problems in performance during the first seven months after the launch of the Criminal Records Bureau but, following joint action by the Bureau, Capita and the Home Office, the Bureau is now delivering reliably each week over twice the number of Disclosures of criminal records undertaken by the police under the old arrangements. […]
Given the prevalence of government-funded inquiries, the frequency with which the government uses them following high-profile failures, their importance in relation to the public’s trust of authorities, and the public funds spent on them, the NAO has conducted an investigation into the 26 inquiries that have started and concluded since 2005.
Sir John Bourn, the Comptroller and Auditor General and Head of the NAO, today published his first report on the Policing Board’s arrangements to secure continuous improvement in their work and in the work of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Under the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000, it is a new requirement which […]
Recorded sickness absence by Prison Service staff has increased since 1999, especially absence caused by stress, anxiety or depression, according to a report by the National Audit Office. However, much of the overall increase may be down to under-reporting in earlier years. Today’s report points out that the Service has made considerable progress in improving […]
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn reported to Parliament today that the Youth Justice Board, established in September 1998, has successfully developed and introduced a range of new non-custodial sentences and programmes for young offenders. There is scope, however, for the Board to improve forecasting of custodial numbers, deciding of placements and […]
This report examines the condition and capacity of HM Prison and Probation Service’s prison estate.
Government forms filled in by citizens can be made shorter and much easier to use leading to better access to services and considerable efficiency gains, Sir John Bourn, the head of the NAO, reported to Parliament today. Forms remain essential to the delivery of a wide range of government services. If forms are well designed […]
The Community Fund adhered to its policies and procedures in awarding a grant to the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns, Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today. However, these policies and procedures were not sufficiently robust and did not alert it to risks it was undertaking in awarding a […]
The Drug Treatment and Testing Order can be a successful community sentence for some drug misusing offenders who would otherwise have been considered for a prison sentence, according to a report to Parliament today by the National Audit Office. However, only 28 per cent of Orders terminated in 2003 were completed in full or were […]