Download or read book National Audit Office NAO Government Contracting The Role of Major Contractors in the Delivery of Public Services HC 810 written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-11-12 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the memorandum 'The role of major contractors in the delivery of public services' the NAO sets out some of the benefits that can be achieved through contracting but highlights three issues that deserve greater public scrutiny. First, it raises questions about the way public service markets operate. This includes the need for scrutiny over whether public service contracts are sufficiently competitive and whether the rise of a few major contractors is in the public interest. Secondly, it highlights the issue of whether contractors' profits reflect a fair return. Understanding contractors' profits is important to ensure that their interests are aligned properly with that of the taxpayer. But transparency over rewards that contractors make is at present limited. Thirdly, the report asks how we know that contractors are delivering services to the high standards expected. In particular, government needs to ensure that large companies with sprawling structures are not paying 'lip-service' to control and that they have the right culture and control environment across their group. This requires transparency over contractors' performance and the use of contractual entitlement to information, audit and inspection. This should be backed up by the threat of financial penalties and being barred from future competitions if things are found to be wrong. A related report 'Managing government suppliers' (HC 811, session 2013-14, ISBN 9780102987034) examines the way the Cabinet Office is working to improve government's management of strategic suppliers.

Download or read book Corporate Governance and the Nuclear Industry written by Barry Pemberton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-09-16 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Corporate Governance and the Nuclear Industry explores the UK nuclear Legacy - governance issues associated with the decommissioning of a range of early-generation civil nuclear facilities. This book traces how we got here and the risks that have been taken, whilst presenting new research and thinking that is required to manage our nuclear Legacy. The book addresses a new analytical approach using notions of governance to review key historic events. This approach analyses these events using concepts of stakeholder control, accountability and regulation. Using these concepts and undertaking a more detailed analysis of the Legacy’s current governance arrangements; the conventional public sector-based solutions that attempt to harness private sector expertise, this book will contrast these with government responses to determine the degree of control over the Legacy and any possible control issues. Corporate Governance and the Nuclear Industry concludes that we need to recognise the legacy’s problems as exceptional rather than prosaic, and suggests that this requires exceptional governance solutions rather than the current form that is clearly failing.

Download or read book Damages and Human Rights written by Jason NE Varuhas and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-05-19 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2018 Inner Temple New Authors Book Prize and the 2016 SLS Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship. Damages and Human Rights is a major work on awards of damages for violations of human rights that will be of compelling interest to practitioners, judges and academics alike. Damages for breaches of human rights is emerging as an important and practically significant field of law, yet the rules and principles governing such awards and their theoretical foundations remain underexplored, while courts continue to struggle to articulate a coherent law of human rights damages. The book's focus is English law, but it draws heavily on comparative material from a range of common law jurisdictions, as well as the jurisprudence of international courts. The current law on when damages can be obtained and how they are assessed is set out in detail and analysed comprehensively. The theoretical foundations of human rights damages are examined with a view to enhancing our understanding of the remedy and resolving the currently troubled state of human rights damages jurisprudence. The book argues that in awarding damages in human rights cases the courts should adopt a vindicatory approach, modelled on those rules and principles applied in tort cases when basic rights are violated. Other approaches are considered in detail, including the current 'mirror' approach which ties the domestic approach to damages to the European Court of Human Rights' approach to monetary compensation; an interest-balancing approach where the damages are dependent on a judicial balancing of individual and public interests; and approaches drawn from the law of state liability in EU law and United States constitutional law. The analysis has important implications for our understanding of fundamental issues including the interrelationship between public law and private law, the theoretical and conceptual foundations of human rights law and the law of torts, the nature and functions of the damages remedy, the connection between rights and remedies, the intersection of domestic and international law, and the impact of damages liability on public funds and public administration. The book was the winner of the 2016 SLS Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship and the 2018 Inner Temple New Authors Book Prize.

Download or read book Rentier Capitalism written by Brett Christophers and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2020-11-24 with total page 513 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did Britain’s economy become a bastion of inequality? In this landmark book, the author of The New Enclosure provides a forensic examination and sweeping critique of early-twenty-first-century capitalism. Brett Christophers styles this as ‘rentier capitalism’, in which ownership of key types of scarce assets—such as land, intellectual property, natural resources, or digital platforms—is all-important and dominated by a few unfathomably wealthy companies and individuals: rentiers. If a small elite owns today’s economy, everybody else foots the bill. Nowhere is this divergence starker, Christophers shows, than in the United Kingdom, where the prototypical ills of rentier capitalism—vast inequalities combined with entrenched economic stagnation—are on full display and have led the country inexorably to the precipice of Brexit. With profound lessons for other countries subject to rentier dominance, Christophers’ examination of the UK case is indispensable to those wanting not just to understand this insidious economic phenomenon but to overcome it. Frequently invoked but never previously analysed and illuminated in all its depth and variety, rentier capitalism is here laid bare for the first time.

Download or read book National Audit Office NAO Cabinet Office Managing Government Suppliers HC 811 written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-11-12 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this memorandum 'Managing government suppliers', the NAO welcomes the fact that the Cabinet Office is now asserting government's position with contractors in way that its scale as a customer merits. Specifically, this has enabled government to get greater value from contracting and has sent signals that government is willing to be tough on underperformance. However, the Cabinet Office still faces a number of challenges in developing a more mature approach. It is currently focused on short-term savings and has adopted a robust approach with departments and suppliers, which has enabled it to report significant savings from contract renegotiations. However, this approach will become harder over time, and risks missing out on achieving longer-term value for money through innovation and investment. There is a balance to be struck between tough negotiations and maintaining relationship with suppliers in the long term, if government is to maintain competition in public sector markets. The Cabinet Office is seeking to reform commercial practice across Government with the development of the Crown Commercial Service. There is a risk that the ambitions are not matched by the right resources, capability and information. It has gaps in commercial experience and expertise below senior levels, while its information on its 40 strategic suppliers is inconsistent and incomplete. A related report 'The role of major contractors in the delivery of public services' (HC 810, session 2013-14, ISBN 9780102987027) sets out some of the benefits that can be achieved through contracting but highlights issues that deserve greater public scrutiny.

Download or read book Central Governments Management of Service Contracts written by Great Britain. National Audit Office 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 NAO report (HCP 65, session 2008-09, ISBN 9780102954487), examines how well central government organisations are managing their service contracts, assessed against the good practice framework for contract management. A further examination was done into the effectiveness of the Office of Government Commerce in supporting central government to improve contract management. The NAO has focused on contracts for information and communication technology, facilities management and business process outsourcing, where the contract had been signed and the service was up and running. In the 2007-08 period, central government spent over £12 billion on service contracts primarily in the areas of information and communications technology, facilities management and business process outsourcing. In total the NAO estimates that £240 million was spent on managing service contracts in the period 2007-08. Delivery of public services, protection against service failure and achievement of value for money are all dependent on effective contract management. The NAO has set out a number of findings and recommendations, including: that contract management is not always accorded the priority it deserves; that less than half the organisations surveyed had an individual with overall responsibility for contract management; that some contracts had taken several years before a proper system of management was actually in place, including resources and performance measures; that one-quarter of comercial directors/heads of procurement rated the level of resources allocated to contract management as poor; that central government do not routinely test their service contracts and good practice risk management practices are not being consistently applied. For the Office of Government Commerce the NAO found that: limited guidance is available on contract management; that central government organisations identified a need for better training for their contract managers; that no cross-government contract management community exists and that monitoring and managing major suppliers had focused mainly on the IT sector.

Download or read book The Stationery Office Annual Catalogue written by Stationery Office (Great Britain) and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Central Government s Management of Service Contracts written by House of Commons Public Accounts Committ and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-04-28 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2007-08, central government spent over £12 billion on service contracts, primarily in the areas of information and communication technology, facilities management and business process outsourcing, and an estimated £240 million on managing these contracts. In most cases central government monitors the performance of its suppliers, but it makes limited use of financial incentives to encourage suppliers to improve performance and does not always apply financial penalties where suppliers under-performed. Testing of value for money of ongoing services and contract changes is variable. Planning and governance is one of the weaker areas of contract management. Less than half the organisations surveyed had an individual with overall responsibility for contract management, and there was no documented plan for managing 28 per cent of contracts. In addition, many contracts do not have in place some or all of the elements of good practice risk management. No commercial director/head of procurement rated the level of resources allocated to the management of their major contracts as 'good', and 22 per cent of contract managers considered they did not have time to perform their responsibilities well. Most contract managers had undertaken relevant training, although 60 per cent of organisations did not provide a structured training programme for their staff. The Office of Government Commerce is to issue further guidance on contract management in April 2009, building on the good practice framework it published jointly with the National Audit Office, and it is working to improve the provision of training on contract management. It is also extending its monitoring of major suppliers to government, and is reviewing recent examples of service failure where contractors failed to perform to identify lessons for the future.

Download or read book Central Government s Use of Consultants and Interims written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-10-14 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report, which focuses on 17 central government departments, finds that in 2009-10, these departments spent over £1 billion on consultants and interim managers (temporary replacements for permanent staff). The departments spent approximately £904 million on consultants in 2006-07. Spending on consultants fell by £126 million in 2007-08, but since then has remained broadly constant, totaling £789 million in 2009-10. Some of the fall in spending up to 2009-10 is likely to be due to increased accuracy in the recording of costs rather than improved control by management, suggesting that some of that reduction in spending is not sustainable. Limited and inconsistent progress has been made against recommendations made in previous NAO and Public Accounts Committee reports. The quality of departments' management information on consultants and interims is poor. Few departments can provide information on their spending by type of consultancy, the number of interims employed, or interims' roles and length of contracts. Departments do not always follow best practice when buying and managing consultancy and interims and most do not assess the performance of consultants or whether the work done was of benefit. In May 2010, the government introduced changes to the approval process for consultants and restrictions on recruitment, including interims, and this has helped to challenge their use. However, this is a short term impact and as a longer term strategy it could lead to the displacement of costs elsewhere. It needs to be built upon to deliver a sustainable approach to structured cost reduction

Download or read book Improving the Efficiency of Postal Services Procurement in the Public Sector written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-03-24 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This NAO report contains case studies which examine the use of postal services in five organisations, relating to two large government departments (HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions), two executive agencies (National Savings and Investments and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency), and a private sector financial services organisation (the RBS Group, which covers brands such as the Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest Bank, Coutts, Direct Line and Tesco Personal Finance). Two accompanying documents are available separately: the main report (HCP 946-I, ISBN 0102937303) which examines how public sector organisations can become more effective in their procurement and management of postal services; and guidance which sets out examples of good practice across public and private sectors (HCP 946-III, ISBN 0102937362).

Download or read book Central government s use of consultants written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-12-15 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This NAO report sets out two definitions of consultancy: (i) where individuals and companies are engaged to work on specific projects that are outside the client's business as usual; (ii) where responsibility for the final outcome of the project largely rests with the client. Central government spent £1.8 billion on consulting in 2005-06. This report sets out a number of recommendations on the use of consultancy, including: that public bodies need to be much better at identifying where core skill gaps exist; that consultants should only be employed after an assessment of in-house skills; all public bodies should adhere to OGC (Office of Government Commerce) guidance on consultancy contracts; public bodies should explore the market for the range of approaches and contracting methods available and make more use of different payment mechanisms; public bodies also need to be smarter when it comes to understanding how consulting firms operate and provide sufficient incentive to staff to make any consultancy project a success.

Download or read book Managing the Relationship to Secure a Successful Partnership in PFI Projects written by Great Britain. National Audit Office and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is a major form of Government procurement for a wide range of public services, including hospitals, prisons, roads, computer systems and government accommodation. There are over 400 PFI contracts currently in force which commit departments to future expenditure of about £100 billion. This report highlights key issues which authorities need to consider when developing and managing relationships with PFI contractors. It is based on a survey of 121 central government PFI projects in progress. The survey was undertaken in 2000 and included the views of authorities and contractors. Key recommendations made include: the importance of a partnership approach between authorities and contractors; authorities should give attention at an early stage in the procurement process to contract management issues; and the need for appropriate procedures for dealing with contract changes.

Download or read book Building capability in the Senior Civil Service to meet today s challenges written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-06-19 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Government now accepts the urgent need for a leadership group that can think across departmental boundaries and lead change but there is still a long way to go to change the long-standing culture of the Senior Civil Service. The NAO watchdog welcomed the ambition of the Civil Service Reform Plan and emphasised the urgent need to make progress, given that the plan underpinned the Government's chances of achieving further efficiency savings. At present there are significant skills shortages, particularly in the areas of commerce, project management, digital delivery and change leadership. In December 2012, only four out of 15 Permanent Secretaries at major delivery departments had significant operational delivery and commercial experience. The 24 professional networks in the civil service lack influence across departmental 'silos' and may not be the right groupings to meet the needs of the modern service. The Government intends to open up the service, with more internal transfers and free flow of skills to and from the private sector, and build on an approach already in place for the top 200. But the proportion of new recruits from the private sector fell in 2009-10 as departments cut spending, and has yet to recover. Promotion to the Senior Civil Service is becoming so financially unattractive as to put off talented people. The NAO warns that the latest moves to increase pay flexibility and offer incentives for business critical roles may not be enough to recruit, motivate and retain the right people.

Download or read book Assessing the value for money of OGCbuying solutions written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-12-14 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: OGCbuying.solutions is an executive agency of the Office of Government Commerce and a trading fund. It was established in April 2001 to maximise the value for money obtained by government departments and other public bodies through the procurement and supply of goods and services. Its operations focus on three areas: framework agreements, managed services and memoranda of undertaking. The agency reported value for money savings of £412 million in 2005-06, an increase of 71 per cent since 2003-04. Whilst these savings are judged to be significant, this NAO report identifies considerable potential to achieve further value for money savings and makes six recommendations to help OGCbuying.solutions further improve its performance. The NAO report estimates that these changes, combined with a more co-ordinated public sector procurement landscape, could achieve a potential £520 million to £660 million in further savings.

Download or read book Memorandum on the 2012 Civil Service Reform Plan written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-01-24 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The government published its Civil Service Reform Plan (the Plan) in June 2012 (www.civilservice.gov.uk/reform). It followed the publication of the 2011 Open Public Services White Paper (Cm.8145, ISBN 9780101814522) which called for a smaller, more strategic civil service that does less centrally, and commissions more from outside. The Plan has many themes in common with previous initiatives that attempted to reform the civil service, and adapt it to the changing needs of governments and public service users, but is arguably the broadest such reform programme since 1968. This Memorandum is intended primarily to inform the Committee's discussions with the leadership of the civil service about the Plan. Given that the Plan is less than a year old, it is not an evaluation of the reforms in the Plan, the progress made against them, or the implementation arrangements in place. It is designed to support the Committee to engage with the breadth of the Plan, so that they can use their influence to help ensure that its implementation improves efficiency, reinforces Parliamentary accountability and protects value for taxpayers and citizens. The Civil Service, in its present form as of 2012, employs 459,000 people across 106 departments and other bodies. The annual spend on Civil Service pay is £16 billion. The projected cost reduction for the Civil Service, between 2010 to 2015 is £80 billion and the projected reduction in the number of full-time equivalent civil servants over the same period is 110,000 representing about 23% of total staff.

Download or read book Delivering Major Projects in Government written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Using the Contract to Maximise the Likelihood of Successful Project Outcomes written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-06-07 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report is one of a series of studies by the NAO which examine key factors involved in improving project performance in defence equipment procurement, with the aim of establishing best practice in relation to a theoretical 'gold standard' developed by assessing and comparing results of overseas and commercial operations. Following on from the first report in the series (HCP 30, session 2005-06, ISBN 0102932611) which identified the contract as a key component of project control, this report sets out recommendations on how the Ministry of Defence and its industry partners can best use the contract to maximise the likelihood of successful project outcomes. (It does not examine methods (competitive or otherwise) the MoD might pursue to select a potential supplier, as the effective use of competition will be the subject of a future report). More information on the evidence underlying the recommendations in this report and the gold standard criteria developed can be found on the website: www.naodefencevfm.org