The NAO has called for government to negotiate greater access to information about how much outsourced public services are actually costing suppliers and therefore how much profit they are making.
The NAO has called for government to negotiate greater access to information about how much outsourced public services are actually costing suppliers and therefore how much profit they are making.
The NAO is publishing a suite of short guides relating to each government department and some cross-government issues, to assist House of Commons Select Committees.
The NAO is publishing a suite of short guides, one for each government department, to assist House of Commons Select Committees.
This interactive briefing pack summarises the National Audit Office’s work in the police and fire sectors since 2012. It highlights the key messages coming from a selection of our recent reports and should be of interest to Police and Crime Commissioners and their officers, senior police and fire officials and the general public.
DCLG has made good progress in its design of 100% local business rates retention but faces a challenging timescale for delivery.
The role and remit of Local Enterprise Partnerships has grown since 2010, but the approach taken by DCLG to overseeing Growth Deals risks future value for money.
This Departmental Overview is one of 17 we are producing covering our work on each major government department. It summarises our work on the Department for Communities and Local Government during 2013-14.
This report highlights the issues our case study areas told us were important to them in carrying out the Care Act. Local authorities may find their experience informative as they continue to develop their own approaches to carrying out the Care Act.
The CQC, the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England, has made substantial progress but needs to recruit and train staff and build a new organisational culture.
Services and outcomes for people with neurological conditions need further improvement.
Local authorities have kept up levels of capital spending but face pressure to meet debt costs and maintain investment in existing assets.
This document summarises the findings of our work and identifies sources of help that may be useful to local areas and government departments supporting local public service reform.
This paper explores the principles departments should use to manage provider failure. There is room for improvement in the way failure of providers is considered and managed.
The Government did not meet its goal of transferring by 1 June 2014 all people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour, for whom it was appropriate, from mental hospitals into the community.
The government has made a commitment to improve support for young people leaving foster or residential care in England but the system is not working effectively.
Fire and rescue authorities have managed funding reductions well. The Department for Communities and Local Government should, however, seek greater assurance that authorities are maintaining service standards and delivering value for money locally
The Department of Health now needs to gain a better understanding of the different ways to commission personalised services for users, and how these lead to improvements in user outcomes.
While the impact of the Pupil Premium will take time to become clear, it has the potential to bring about a significant improvement in outcomes. However, the Department for Education and schools have more to do.
Devolution deals to devolve power from central government to local areas in England offer opportunities to stimulate economic growth and reform public services for local users, but the arrangements are untested and government could do more to provide confidence that these deals will achieve the benefits intended