Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that in recent years the Ministry of Defence have produced fewer trained pilots than the Armed Services require, and some 45 a year (18 per cent) fewer than needed have entered operational service. This situation has contributed to a shortfall in operational pilots […]
The New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA), a complex project to reform the way that electricity is traded in England and Wales, has been associated with a fall in the wholesale price of electricity, but the impact on the bills paid by many domestic consumers has been more limited, according to a report published to Parliament […]
In April 2000, three men were sentenced to prison terms for corruption in relation to the purchase of homes, between 1991 and 1995, by Focus Housing Association from a Birmingham property dealer. Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Corporation’s routine reviews of Focus during that period did […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that although the Private Finance Initiative deal for the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link was in many respects unique, the lessons to be learned from the project’s near collapse are not. The report makes three key points. In negotiating with the […]
The Medicines Control Agency (MCA) has a good track record, nationally and internationally, in protecting public health and in ensuring that medicines are in general safe, of good quality and effective if used properly. But, according to a National Audit Office report, it needs to do more to improve the quality of information and advice […]
It is important that organisations work well together and that departments tackle the barriers to joint working so that long lasting improvements are made to the quality of services that the public receive, Sir John Bourn, the Head of the NAO, reported to Parliament today. The report evaluates the achievements of 5 initiatives and highlights […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office (NAO), has reported to Parliament on the outcome of financial audit work undertaken by the NAO in central government over the past year. Today’s report examines the progress made by government departments in a number of important areas – most notably the development of corporate governance […]
Effective measures are now in place to ensure that blood is safe for transfusions. That is one of the main findings in a National Audit Office report into the National Blood Service. The report also concludes that, despite the long time taken by the Service since its creation in 1993 to make the transition from […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today published his report to Parliament on the results of his examination of the Public Health Laboratory Service Board Accounts for 1998-99. Sir John issued a report to Parliament on the account concerning the breakdown of financial controls following the contracting out by the Board of […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported the results of his examination of HM Customs and Excise’s systems for the assessment, collection and allocation of tax revenue during the year ending 31 March 2002. Customs collected £150 billion (gross) in revenue in 2001-2002. In April 2001 the Department reorganised along functional […]
This briefing has been prepared for the Defence Committee of the House of Commons to provide an overview of the work and performance of the Ministry of Defence in the financial year 2006-07 and subsequent months.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on the worsening financial performance of the NHS in Wales and the rising cost of clinical negligence claims. On the financial performance of the NHS in Wales: the underlying cumulative deficit of the NHS in Wales rose by £21.8 million in 1998-99 […]
A National Audit Office report to Parliament today on the handling of the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak showed that the outbreak cost the public sector over £3 billion and the private sector more than £5 billion. According to head of the NAO Sir John Bourn, lessons to be learned from the outbreak, unprecedented in […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, has reported to Parliament on the outcome of financial audit work undertaken by the NAO in central government over the past year. During the year Sir John qualified his audit opinion on 11 accounts and reported on a further 11. Today’s report examines the progress made […]
This paper is a briefing for the Select Committee to provide an overview of the work and performance of the former Department of Trade and Industry in the financial year 2006-07 and subsequent months. It takes as its basis the Department’s Annual Report, drawing upon the work of the Select Committee and the National Audit Office (NAO), together with relevant findings and recommendations from other external and internal reviews of departmental performance.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, has reported to Parliament on the outcome of financial audit work undertaken in central government by his staff over the past year. Sir John qualified his audit opinion on 13 accounts and reported on a further 13. Sir John examines the progress made by Government departments and […]
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, today reported to Parliament the results of his examination of the 17 Summarised Accounts* which cover the financial activities of the National Health Service in England, with an annual budget of some £36 billion. Sir John’s opinion on each of the summarised accounts is unqualified. His report […]
This briefing is prepared for the Public Administration Select Committee of the House of Commons to provide an overview of the work and performance of the Cabinet Office in the financial year 2006-07.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament developments in performance measurement intended to support the achievement of Government aims and objectives. For each Department, key objectives and associated performance targets feature in a Public Service Agreement, which underlies the resources allocated in spending reviews. These arrangements put the United […]
The development of the national Air Quality Strategy provides a good example of modern policy-making practices, and further improvements can be made, according to a National Audit Office report. The NAO used the development of the second Air Quality Strategy (published in January 2000) to examine the policy development processes of the former Department of […]