Download or read book The sale of the Government s interest in British Energy written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-24 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report, the 22nd from the Public Accounts Committee (HCP 356, session 2009-10, ISBN 9780215545084), looks at the sale of the Government's interest in British Energy. In January 2009, the Government sold its 36 per cent interest in British Energy, as part of EDF's purchase of the Company. The sale had potentially important implications for future energy security as British Energy, though not financially strong enough to invest in new nuclear power stations itself, owned land viewed by industry as being in the most suitable places for them. The Department did not, however, secure a binding commitment from EDF to build new nuclear power stations. The report adds it also failed to establish whether EDF had previously built any new nuclear power stations without public subsidy. A number of factors, including planning decisions, could result in EDF abandoning its plans to build new nuclear powers stations, with or without public subsidy. The Shareholder Executive hired investment bankers UBS at a cost of £4 million, equivalent to a monthly payment of around £400,000, to advise on sale tactics, assist with negotiations and provide valuations of British Energy. The Committee considers it unacceptable that the Shareholder Executive considered it necessary to spend so much on external advice when it is supposed to possess expertise in these areas. The Government was fortunate in selling its interest in British Energy when energy prices were at a peak. The £4.4 billion sale proceeds were allocated to the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, to put towards the future cost of decommissioning British Energy's existing power stations.
Download or read book Nuclear Decommissioning Authority written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Trade and Industry Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2005-05-19 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nuclear Decommissioning Authority : Oral and written Evidence
Download or read book Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Taking Forward Decommissioning written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the 38th report from the Committee of Public Accounts (HCP 370, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215521668) on the subject of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The NAO produced a report on the same subject (HCP 238, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780102951974). The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) was established in April 2005 with the aim of decommissioning the UK's civil public sector nuclear sites. By December 2007, 14 of its 19 sites had already shut down and were being decommissioned, with parts of Sellafield being cleaned-up. The NDA discharges its responsibilities through contracts with licensed operators at each site. The sites are managed by site licensees, including preparation of decommissioning plans and performing and sub-contracting work. The licensees are owned by four parent bodies. The NDA aims to improve site performance by putting the right to be the parent body out to tender. There is uncertainty over the costs of decommissioning, with an estimate of £73 billion prepared in 2007, up 30% since 2003. The Committee accepts that the legacy of deferred decision making over a period of 50 years is in part responsible for the cost increases, but believes that some of the escalating costs should be avoidable, including short-term changes to the decommissioning programme and the scale of site support costs. Further, the NDA's work has been hampered by the uncertainty in the level of commercial income earned from ageing and unreliable facilities, with the NDA cutting, at short notice, the levels of funding it projected to provide in the 2007-08 period of decommissioning. This has imposed additional costs on the taxpayer, with the NDA providing £31.6 million to cover costs of early contract closure, staff training and redundancy.
Download or read book Recovery of Debt by the Inland Revenue Forty Ninth Report of Session 2003 04 Report Together with Formal Minutes Oral and Written Evidence written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Inland Revenue collects over £200 billion a year in tax and National Insurance contributions from 30 million taxpayers, ranging from individuals to multinational corporations. The total amount of debt from unpaid taxes stood at £12 billion at the end of March 2004, of which £3 billion was more than a year old. Following on from a NAO report (HCP 363, session 2003-04; ISBN 0102927596) published in March 2004, the Committee has examined the progress made by the Inland Revenue to speed up debt recovery, whether more can be done to encourage prompt payment and the application of good practice in debt management. Findings include that the Department should impose a surcharge on persistent late payers; use other government departmental records to find taxpayers it cannot trace; seek additional powers for enforcing debts similar to those of other tax authorities; and include debt management data in its performance measures.
Download or read book Protecting England and Wales from Plant Pests and Diseases written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following on from a NAO report on this topic (HCP 1186, session 2002-03; ISBN 0102923590) published in October 2003, the Committee's report focuses on the work of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in trying to prevent plant pests and diseases from entering the country and in managing and preventing the spread of outbreaks when they occur. The main impacts from plant pests and diseases are economic ones, and DEFRA spends £8 million each year on import controls and a further £14 million researching the diagnosis and control of pests. Its work is subject to two main international agreements, as well as WTO requirements that stipulate import controls must have a scientific basis and must not be used as a barrier to trade. Recommendations include that DEFRA should: reassess current inspection targets using cost-benefit analyses; establish a peer review system to provide assurance on the quality of inspections; work with industry and supermarkets to improve food labelling to raise consumer awareness of the UK's standards for plant health; address the inconsistencies in current farmer compensation arrangements and explore the feasibility of alternatives such as insurance or levy schemes.
Download or read book The UK Emissions Trading Scheme written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Scheme is one of the Government's policy measures designed to help meet its commitments under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to secure significant reductions in UK greenhouse gas emissions, in order to address the causes of global warming. Under the Scheme, companies are issued with allowances equal to their target emissions for the year, and at the end of the year must hold enough allowances to cover its actual emissions. A company can choose to reduce its actual emissions below its target (enabling it to sell excess allowances to other companies, or to save them for use in future years), to meet its target, or to buy extra allowances to cover any emissions in excess of its target amount. Following on from a National Audit Office report on this topic (HCP 517, session 2003-04; ISBN 0102927804) published in April 2004, the Committee's report examines the risk management procedures associated with the Scheme, the way baselines for greenhouse emissions were set, the effectiveness of the auction and the market, and the wider benefits to the UK economy.
Download or read book Ministry of Defence Major Projects Report 2003 Forty Third Report of Session 2003 04 Report Together with Formal Minutes Oral and Written Evidence written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Major Projects Report 2003 provides information on progress made by the Ministry of Defence in procuring major defence equipment against cost, time and technical performance targets. It covers 30 projects split, according to Smart Acquisition principles, between the 20 largest projects on which the main investment decision has been taken, and the 10 largest projects yet to reach that point. For the 20 largest projects, costs are forecast to have increased by £3.1 billion in the last year, and are now 6.1 per cent over their approved costs. Difficulties on four older projects (which predate the introduction of Smart Acquisition) account for the majority of cost and time overruns. Following on from a NAO report on this topic (HCP 195, session 2003-04; ISBN 0102926581) published in January 2004, the Committee's report examines four main issues: the impact of the large cost overruns and delays; departmental risk management; ways of developing a more constructive relationship between the Department and industry; and lessons that need to be learned to avoid such poor procurement performance being repeated in future.
Download or read book Network Rail Making a Fresh Start written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2005-07-07 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee took evidence from the Department for Transport, and the Strategic Rail Authority on the establishment of Network Rail in place of Railtrack and the subsequent review of the rail industry. The report considers the issues raised in the NAO report (HC 532, Session 2003-04) and how they have been addressed by the subsequent White Paper. There are five main conclusions: the Department will need to set strategy more effectively than was done by the SRA; the Department needs to recruit staff capable of dealing with the highest levels of the railway industry; Network Rail should develop long term financial indicators to show it is meeting objectives in a cost effective way; the Department should establish effective oversight of the risks associated with Network Rail's financial liabilities; the Government should justify the extra cost of private finance rather than conventional public funding for Network Rail.
Download or read book Ministry of Defence written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Operation TELIC was the UK's contribution to the Coalition effort to remove Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq in Spring 2003. This was the UK's largest military operation since the 1990-91 Gulf War, involving the deployment of 46,000 personnel from all three armed services, 19 warships, 15,000 vehicles and 115 aircraft, as well as support from large numbers of Service personnel, civilians and contractors in the UK and elsewhere. Following on from a National Audit Office report (HCP 60, session 2003-04; ISBN 0102926565) published in December 2003, the Committee's report focuses on four main issues: the Ministry of Defence's ability to deploy forces at short notice; logistics and shortages of equipment at the front line; the consignment tracking system; and the Department's process of identifying and implementing lessons. Findings include i) that front line equipment shortages, such as lack of combat body armour and nuclear, biological and chemical detection/protection equipment, exposed troops to increased risks; ii) despite significant investment, the MoD still lacks a credible consignment tracking system; iii) the planning and handing over of responsibilities to civilian agencies should have been better managed; and iv) there are fundamental shortcomings in the MoD's ability to learn and act upon lessons from previous experience.
Download or read book Increased Resources to Improve Public Services written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In July 2002, the Government announced a public expenditure increase of £61 billion over three years, to be targeted at improving key public services. The three largest recipients of the extra funding were the Department for Education and Skills, the Department of Health and the Department for Transport. Following on from a NAO report on this topic (HCP 234, session 2003-04; ISBN 0102927103) published in January 2004, the Committee's report examines how these departments are using their extra resources, focusing on three main issues: the complexity of the service deliver chain, how they can secure further improvements in service quality, and performance monitoring and benchmarking. Conclusions reached include that, complex delivery chains and financing mechanisms need to be simplified, and a direct link established between funding and specific targets for service improvements. As all three departments deliver services indirectly through a network of partners and contractors, they need to ensure delivery partners have sufficient capability and capacity to deliver services effectively. Departments should also share information on their plans to increase delivery capacity more widely among key suppliers.
Download or read book Index to Chairmen written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Management of Suspensions of Clinical Staff in NHS Hospitals and Ambulance Trusts in England written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between April 2001 and July 2002 over one thousand NHS clinical staff were suspended for more than a month. This not only costs the NHS more than £40 million it also adversely affects the clinicians, even if they are exonerated. This report, based on a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (HC 1143 2002-03 ISBN 0102923558), examines the scale and costs of exclusions and the way the process could be better managed. It finds that there is a need for accurate and timely reporting of exclusions and another survey to determine the true cost. Also the guidance issued in 2003 only applies to doctors, similar guidance is needed for other clinical staff.
Download or read book Journals of the House of Commons written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 744 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Stationery Office Annual Catalogue written by Stationery Office (Great Britain) and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 780 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Restructuring of British Energy written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-03-17 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: British Energy was privatised in 1996. In 2002, the price of electricity fell and on 5 September 2002, the Company applied to the Department of Trade and Industry (the Department) for financial assistance. In November 2002, the Department agreed to provide financial assistance with the proviso that the Company's financial arrangements would be restructured. This report deals with the financial aid that the Department gave to British Energy and the terms of the restructuring of British Energy. The Department decided to intervene because, in its assessment, unplanned closures of British Energy's nuclear power stations would have had safety implications and put electricity supplies at risk. The Department took on responsibility for a large proportion of the company's liabilities, to be funded through a Nuclear Liabilities Fund, though there was no up-to-date estimate of those liabilities. (These estimates are to be updated every five years now.) In February 2006 British Energy estimated liabilities at £5,287 million. The restructuring mechanism is for a cash sweep, so that the company contributes more to the Fund when it is doing well. In the 12 months following completion of restructuring in January 2005, the wholesale electricity price rose sharply and the Company's share price more than doubled. The electricity market has, however, proved to be particularly volatile over recent years. The Nuclear Liabilities Fund is left particularly exposed to British Energy's financial and operational performance. Day-to-day responsibility for monitoring various aspects of the Company's performance currently lies with a number of teams within the Department. There remains a real risk that information learned by the different teams is not shared quickly and evaluated and that insufficient staff resources are committed to safeguarding the taxpayer's significant interest. To assist its management of the taxpayer's interest, the Department will need to prepare sufficiently comprehensive contingency plans to enable it to act quickly under the range of scenarios that might arise.
Download or read book The Green Book written by Great Britain. Treasury and published by Stationery Office. This book was released on 2003 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new edition incorporates revised guidance from H.M Treasury which is designed to promote efficient policy development and resource allocation across government through the use of a thorough, long-term and analytically robust approach to the appraisal and evaluation of public service projects before significant funds are committed. It is the first edition to have been aided by a consultation process in order to ensure the guidance is clearer and more closely tailored to suit the needs of users.
Download or read book The Tolerability of Risk from Nuclear Power Stations written by Great Britain. Health and Safety Executive and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This document replaces the statement and proposals made in the discussion document Tolerability of Risk form Nuclear Power Stations published in 1988. It represents a revision of the earlier document in the light of comments received and of the discussion on the document during the Hinkley Point Inquiry and in the Inquiry report.
