Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office (NAO), reported today that substantial improvements are needed in the way government departments provide funding to Third Sector Organisations (TSOs) to deliver public services. A 2002 Treasury Review made numerous recommendations aimed at improving funding practices relating to TSOs. These recommendations have in the main been […]
The Department has stemmed the fall in the percentage of people filing their tax returns by the deadline, so that just over 90 per cent file their returns by the end of January each year, according to the National Audit Office. However, an estimated £1.1 billion of income tax was outstanding from 1.1 million overdue […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that while the Environment Agency provides well-managed and professional water resource management services there is scope to improve efficiency and realise net savings of some £450,000 a year on its activities in England, with a further potential saving of between £1 million to £2 […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Ministry of Defence has a good system for reporting the readiness of its Armed Forces, which continues to improve. More work is required, however, both to better define and measure its Public Service Agreement target for readiness, and to define and […]
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. […]
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 […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today on the mixed success with which the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is transposing European legislation uinto UK law and preparing for its implementation. Defra deals with more European legislation than any other government department, and its mixed success demonstrates how […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Ministry of Defence is successfully introducing new management and contractual arrangements to deliver a better quality estate and has embarked on a major programme of estate rationalisation. However, more needs to be done to ensure that the benefits of these changes are […]
Overview The National Audit Office published today its “gold standard” for project control of major defence projects. This aims to help the MoD improve its performance in delivering projects on time and to budget. It forms part of a second in a suite of studies exploring key project success factors and how the MoD and […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) initiative, launched in 2001, is an effective means of improving primary health and social care. The LIFT model has a number of strengths: it takes a long term strategic approach to local health provision which combines the […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the frameworks that the Department for Education and Skills and the Learning and Skills Council have developed and put in place to plan and monitor the further education sector are likely to support systematic planning and provide reasonable assurance. As the frameworks develop, […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today on the progress that Departments have made in establishing robust data systems to measure and report performance against 2003-06 Public Service Agreement targets. This interim report draws on the NAO’s examination of the data systems used by seven Departments and the cross cutting Sure […]
Customs has moved quickly to tighten border controls against illegal imports of animal products from outside of the European Union, since taking over this enforcement role in April 2003. As a result, the number of seizures has more than doubled, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today. He recommended that […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that not all consumers have yet benefited from the move from 192 to 118 directory enquiry numbers, but that the market was still evolving. Specifically, the average residential consumer is paying more for a directory enquiries service with no obvious improvement in quality. […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, said today that there were examples where the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) process had helped departments to develop a better policy proposal. But there were also cases where its impact was limited because it had not been an integral part of the policy making process. Sir […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today on the progress that departments and their agencies have made to their construction delivery performance since his 2001 report “Modernising Construction”. He concluded that there had been a considerable improvement in completing projects to time and cost and that real savings were being delivered, […]
The National Audit Office reported today that, four years into the 10-year NHS Cancer Plan, substantial progress has been made in meeting the Plan’s targets. The thirty-four cancer networks which have been established have achieved important improvements in delivering cancer services across England. However, the networks need to be more effective and to develop partnership […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) does well to manage the difficult job of having housing available for Service personnel and their families when posted overseas. However, it needs to adopt a greater customer focus in its delivery of housing services overseas. It also […]