This page is part of our successful commissioning toolkit. UK (and European Union (EU) ) policy generally favour competitive markets because they are considered to contribute to efficiency [Note 1]. In the last 20 years or so, this has extended to the public services. Competition is now, with contestability [Note 2] and choice, an important part of […]
Provides information on how the Department for Transport is organising itself to support a successful exit from the EU.
Public and private borrowing are high, kept affordable by record low interest rates, and quantitative easing continues ten years after the crisis it responded to.
This page is part of our successful commissioning toolkit. Grant is an extremely useful way for a public body to fund a third sector organisation (TSO) for activity that is in line with one or more of the public body’s objectives. For example, a council that is concerned about the poor wellbeing of one of the communities […]
The National Audit Office has today published a briefing describing how the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which has one of the largest and most complex EU Exit portfolios in government, is preparing to deliver a successful exit from the EU.
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 […]
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn today reported to Parliament on the financial management of European Union funds. Today’s report highlights the main findings of the latest Annual Report by the European Court of Auditors, which was published in November 2001 and covered the management of the General Budget of the European […]
Impact Assessments, used to assess the need for and the likely impact of proposed government policy interventions, do not yet consistently provide a sound basis for assessing the merits of different policy proposals. Further improvement in the quality and use of Impact Assessments is needed to achieve value for money.
Sir John Bourn, the head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on the financial management of European funds. The European Commission has made some headway in implementing its programme of reforms, but it is too early to say how successful they will be in reducing levels of error and fraud. Sir John’s […]
Sir John Bourn, the Head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on the need to strengthen the financial management of European funds and tackle fraud and irregularity, and on the far-reaching programme of reform that the European Commission is seeking to implement over the next two years. Sir John’s report highlights the […]
This page is part of our successful commissioning toolkit. Introduction A council wishes to commission support for vulnerable families in its area. The population is mixed in both economic and ethnic terms. School attainment varies markedly, as do ‘longer-term’ indicators, such as rising obesity and behavioural problems. Stakeholder engagement and communications A policy manager in the council takes […]
The National Audit Office has today published a briefing describing how the centre of government is overseeing and taking forward implementation of the UK’s exit from the European Union. The briefing focuses in particular on the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
24 November 2017
In this publication we set out how DIT is preparing to deliver an effective exit from the EU.
25 January 2018
Government has gaps in its capability and must do more to develop the skills needed. It is making plans, but the scale of the challenge means greater urgency is needed.
The Whole of Government Accounts consolidates the accounts of over 7,000 bodies across the public sector, including central and local government and public corporations such as the Bank of England, to produce an accounts-based picture of the UK’s public finances.
The report focuses on how the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs is preparing to exit from the EU. It is part of a series of NAO briefings on the key bodies in the centre of government and the major spending departments that have to deliver Exit programmes.
20 December 2017
HMRC has made progress in developing the new customs system, which was part of its existing programme, but it may need to be ready much earlier than originally planned if there is no agreement extending timescales on the transition to any new customs arrangements
This report provides an update on HMRC’s progress with the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) since July 2017. We consider the deliverability of the CDS programme and highlight the risks and issues HMRC needs to manage to fully implement CDS by January 2019.
Government investment in science requires strategic vision and clear information so that it can ensure the UK is investing in the right areas. Our report is accompanied by an Evaluative Framework to guide effective cross-government coordination.
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.