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 […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that the financial analysis* carried out for the London Underground Public Private Partnerships cannot, on its own, be expected to show clearly which public or private sector option for managing and funding the Tube will provide better value for money. Sir John […]
The programme to upgrade to the Thameslink routes through London has a realistic prospect of delivering value for money but there remains risks which the Department for Transport and Network Rail need to manage carefully.
In a report to Parliament today, head of the NAO Sir John Bourn recognised that the outsourcing of the Department of Social Security’s medical assessment service had reduced costs and speeded up the turnaround of work. But the standard of medical assessments and the quality of service to benefit customers need to improve. The service […]
The BBC has improved the value for money of its activity, but there is scope to make improvements, particularly on licence fee evasion and the incomplete transition programme.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that the Royal Armouries* in July 1999 successfully negotiated a revised deal with Royal Armouries (International) plc** (“RAI”) which ensured that the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds remained open. The revised deal has also made it possible for the future redevelopment of […]
Having shown that the concept of a national citizen service has something to offer young people, to demonstrate value for money the OCS and the Trust now need to show they can grow NCS as intended and run it at a more affordable cost to the taxpayer.
By reducing the number of its offices and moving to a regional centre model HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) hopes to significantly reduce its running costs and modernise the way it works. HMRC’s original plan has proved unrealistic and is now reconsidering the scope and timing of the programme. Any changes will need to be carefully managed to avoid diminishing the long term value of the strategy.
This is an investigation into the contractual arrangements that UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) had in place since 2013-14 for the outsourcing of sector specialist services with PA Consulting. PA received £18.8million in the first year of a contract due to last three years. Following concerns about the way the contract had been priced UKTI terminated the contract in January 2016 and agreed a commercial settlement with PA in May 2016.
The case for a huge expansion of electronic monitoring using GPS was unproven, but the Ministry of Justice pursued an overly ambitious and high risk strategy anyway. Ultimately it has not delivered.
The National Probation Service Information Systems Strategy (NPSISS) network is operating in 38 out of the 42 new local probation areas in England and Wales. Nevertheless, there were serious problems in the development of a case recording and management system, known as CRAMS, leading to its use by a minority of probation service areas. During […]
Digital transformation has a mixed track record across government. It has not yet provided a level of change that will allow government to further reduce costs while still meeting people’s needs.
The Department has committed electricity consumers and taxpayers to a high cost and risky deal in a changing energy marketplace. We cannot say the Department has maximised the chances that it will achieve value for money.
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has not achieved value for money for its £100 million spend on the second competition for government financial support for carbon capture storage.
HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC’s) contract with Synnex-Concentrix UK Ltd was terminated in November 2016. The contract was designed to add capacity to HMRC’s programme of interventions to prevent or detect error and fraud in personal tax credits awards. HMRC estimated that the contract would save £1 billion over its three year life time and an estimated £193 million, excluding Concentrix’s costs, had been saved by the time of contract termination.
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.
It is not possible to show that the Crown Commercial Service has achieved more than departments would otherwise have achieved by buying common goods and services themselves.
Challenging objectives for improving access to general practice have been set by the Department and NHS England, but a more coordinated approach and stronger incentives are needed.
This report examines the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s management of the renegotiated contract in place with Cavendish Fluor Partnership.
The Department of Health and NHS England are making progress but much remains to be done to improve access to mental health services.