The NAO’s findings from its investigation into whether £1.3m of donations from a charity, the William Openshaw Street Foundation, were eligible to be matched with funds from the Cabinet Office’s Grassroots Grants Programme.
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.
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.
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.
Probation services have been restructured on time and within cost targets during a period of major change but operational problems and risks to further service transformation need to be resolved if re-offending levels are to reduce.
The Department of Health and NHS England are making progress but much remains to be done to improve access to mental health services.
In December 2015 a five year contract, worth around £800 million between UnitingCare Partnership and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough clinical commissioning group collapsed after only 8 months because it ran into financial difficulties. NAO examined the design, procurement and operation of the contract and the events that led to its termination.
This memorandum has been prepared to support the Committee of Public Accounts’ consideration of the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) provision of accommodation to its service personnel.
The risks to the affordability of the Ministry of Defence Equipment Plan are greater than at any point since reporting began in 2012.
The Compact is a voluntary agreement that sets out shared principles for effective partnership working between the government and voluntary and civil society organisations in England. This report examines departments’ progress in implementing the recommendations in our 2012 report on the Compact.
The management of rail franchising has improved since 2012 however significant risks remain to achieving value for money as the programme develops.
It is important that the services for vulnerable people at the Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre are delivered ‘right first time’ and this did not happen here. Steps are now being taken to address the problems but 35% of the recommendations from Her Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons’ 2015 inspection have not yet been implemented.
If the government is serious about increasing its use of small and medium – sized enterprises (SMEs), it will need to focus on those areas where SMEs can deliver real benefits.
The Department for Work and Pensions has not yet achieved value for money in managing contracted-out health and disability assessments.
HS2 is a large, complex and ambitious programme which is facing cost and time pressures. The unrealistic timetable set for HS2 Ltd by the Department means they are not as ready to deliver as they hoped to be at this point.
In his annual speech in Parliament, Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said government can provide people with better public services despite the challenging fiscal backdrop.
The NAO’s good practice guide for managing the commercial lifecycle The government’s response to the COVID-19 global pandemic has drawn renewed, and possibly unprecedented, attention to public procurement and commercial practice in government. Our aim at the NAO is to provide an independent and evidence-based perspective, on how public authorities can achieve better outcomes and value […]
Against a backdrop of increasing pressure on NHS finances, NHS England has not controlled the rising cost of specialised services.