Download or read book Twenty fifth Report of Session 2005 06 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: European Scrutiny Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-04-26 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty-fifth report of Session 2005-06 : Documents considered by the Committee on 19 April 2006, report, together with formal Minutes

Download or read book Fifth Report of Session 2005 06 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: European Scrutiny Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2005-10-27 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fifth report of Session 2005-06 : Documents considered by the Committee on 12 October 2005, including: the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Commission legislative proposals; Marketing of maize genetically modified for resistance to corn rootworm; Declara

Download or read book Twenty fifth Report of Session 2012 13 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: European Scrutiny Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-01-02 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The delays in administering the 2005 Single Payment Scheme in England written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-09-06 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The EU Single Payment Scheme replaced 11 previous subsidies to farmers based on agricultural production with one payment for land management. The European Commission gave some discretion to Member States over how to implement the scheme, and the Rural Payments Agency, which is responsible for administering the scheme in England, opted for the dynamic hybrid model which incorporates elements of previous entitlement and new regionalised area payments based on a flat rate per hectare. The Agency and Defra encountered severe problems in the implementation of the scheme in England, and by the end of March 2006, it had paid farmers only 15 per cent of the £1,515 million due, compared with its target of 96 per cent. This caused significant hardship to farmers and taxpayers will have to pay extra implementation costs. Defra has had to secure an extra £300 million to meet the potential cost of disallowance of expenditure by the European Commission arising on the problems in administering the scheme. Following on from a NAO report on this topic (HCP 1631, session 2005-06; ISBN 9780102943399 published in October 2006, as well as a report from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee (HCP 107-I, session 2006-07, ISBN 9780215033383) published in March 2007, this report by the Public Accounts Committee examines the impact of the payment delays on the farming sector, why implementation failed, the role of Defra and the changes being put in place to rectify the mistakes made. Lessons highlighted include: the Department made the scheme unnecessarily complex by choosing to adopt the most demanding implementation option; the Rural Payments Agency shed too many experienced staff at a key time; implementation of the project started before the scheme specification was finalised; and the IT system was introduced without adequate testing, a failure often seen with government IT projects.

Download or read book Counter terrorism policy and human rights written by Great Britain: Parliament: Joint Committee on Human Rights and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-12-14 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report examines the Government's intention, as part of its counter-terrorism measures, to increase the pre-charge detention limit from 28 to 42 days. The Committee believes that there is a clear national consensus that the case for further change has not been made by the Government. In the Committee's view a truly consensual approach should lead the Government to accept that it has failed to build the necessary national consensus for this very significant interference with the right to liberty and withdraw the proposal; to proceed with it as detailed by the Home Office calls into question the Government's commitment to a consensual approach and raises questions of compatibility with human rights. The Committee does not accept that the Government has made the case for extending pre-charge detention beyond the current limit of 28 days, for the following reasons: i) it can find no clear evidence of likely need in the near future; ii) alternatives to extension do enough, in combination, to protect the public and are much more proportionate; iii) the proposed parliamentary mechanism would create a serious risk of prejudice to the fair trial of suspects; iv) the existing judicial safeguards for extensions even up to 28 days are inadequate.

Download or read book Inland Revenue Standard Report written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-04-25 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2004-05 HM Revenue and Customs paid £15.8 billion of Tax Credits. The Department recalculates each award annually and has identified that for 2003-04 it overpaid some £2.2 billion to 1.9 million families. It believes that 2004-05 will see a similar level of overpayment. This is partly due to the nature of the scheme where awards are provisionally based on previous income whilst the final award is based on actual income. However the level of overpayment has been higher than was initial estimated and repayments have caused distress to some families. This report looks at measures being taken to reduce overpayments; claimant error and fraud; and the settlement with EDS over problems with the computer system. The Committee attaches great importance to this subject and wish to return to it in the future.

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 2006-06-27 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following on from the NAO report (HCP 595-I, session 2005-06; ISBN 0102936250) published in November 2005, the Committee's report examines the recommendations made to improve the MoD's procurement of defence equipment focusing on time, cost and performance data for 30 defence projects in the year ended March 2005. This covers the 20 largest projects where the main investment decision has been taken and the 10 largest projects still in the assessment stage. The Committee's report focuses on three main issues: options for enhancing programme and project management of defence acquisition; the impact of older projects on overall acquisition performance; and value for money from the Defence Industrial Strategy. Findings include: i) the MoD has reduced the forecast costs of its top 19 projects by some £700 million, but these cuts were needed to bring the Defence Equipment Plan under control rather than the result of better project management; ii) some of the latest capability cuts are short-term expediencies which may result in an erosion of core defence capability or in higher costs throughout the life of individual projects; and iii) despite previous assurances that it had restructured many of its older projects to address past failures, the MoD still attributes much of its historic poor performance to so called "toxic legacy" projects which continue to accumulate considerable time and cost overruns, and it is now time that such projects were put on a firm footing with realistic performance, time and cost estimates against which the MoD and industry can be judged.

Download or read book Twenty fifth report of session 2010 11 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: European Scrutiny Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2011-04-14 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty-fifth report of Session 2010-11 : Documents considered by the Committee on 5 April 2011, report, together with formal Minutes

Download or read book Tackling the Complexity of the Benefits System written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-04-27 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The complexity of the benefit system is a key factor affecting the performance of the Department for Work and Pensions. Although this complexity is often necessary in order to administer the system cost-effectively and protect public funds against abuse, it can also result in high levels of error by staff, confusion for customers and help create a climate where fraud can more easily take place. The Committee's report finds that although the DWP has taken steps to address this problem (for example, in the design of Pension Credit, simplifying claim processes for several benefits and better sharing of information with local authorities), these are rather piecemeal developments and it is difficult to tell whether the system as a whole has become more or less complex as there is currently no objective way of measuring it. Some of the steps taken to simplify processes for customers are a way of managing complexity, rather than eliminating it. Managing complexity requires well-trained staff supported by accessible guidance and assistance and efficient information technology systems, and the DWP should also improve its written communications with customers.

Download or read book Counter terrorism Policy and Human Rights thirteenth Report written by House of Lords and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-10-13 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a report on aspects of the Government's counter-terrorism strategy since the 2005 election. This book draws attention to criticisms of the UK's counter-terrorism law and policy in various reports by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the UN Human Rights Committee. HC 1077.

Download or read book National Offender Management Service written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-06-06 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The prison population in England and Wales has been increasing since the 1990s and by November 2005 it reached a record level of 77,800, resulting in increased levels of overcrowding and stretched resources. Following on from a NAO report (HC 458, session 2005-06 (ISBN 0102935696) published in October 2005, the Committee's report examines how the Home Office, the Prison Service and the National Offender Management Service (which has responsibility for managing and accommodating prisoners) are dealing with the challenges involved in accommodating this record number of prisoners, the construction and use of temporary accommodation and the impact on the delivery of education and other training for prisoners. The Committee makes a number of conclusions and recommendations including in relation to: the deportation of foreign nationals, the use of alternatives to remand such as electronic tagging, contingency planning to ensure greater flexibility in accommodation plans including pilot testing new accommodation to identify possible problems early on, the application of best practice in anti-suicide monitoring measures, and the impact of moving prisoners around the prison estate on their training needs.

Download or read book Reducing Brain Damage written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-07-11 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Strokes are one of the top three causes of death in England and a leading cause of adult disability. There are 110,000 strokes each year in England, with a quarter occurring to people under 65 years. Some 300,000 people in England are living with moderate to severe disabilities as a result of a stroke. As the NAO report on this subject pointed out (HCP 452, session 05/06 NAO ISBN 010293570X), it costs the economy in total about £7 billion a year, with the direct cost to the NHS about £2.8 billion. This Committee of Public Accounts report takes evidence from the Department of Health and sets out a number of recommendations. The cost of stroke, in both economic and human terms, could be reduced by re-organizing existing services more effectively. Brain scans of many stroke patients are being delayed, everyone who suffers a stroke should be scanned as soon as possible after arrival in hospital, and should not wait more than 24 hours. Stroke patients should spend longer in hospital on a stroke unit, this could reduce the number of deaths. There needs to be an increase in the number of consultants who have training in dealing with strokes, as well as therapists and other specialist staff with expertise in stroke care across the primary and secondary healthcare sectors. The Department of Health should improve provision of information to stroke survivors and carers, so they are made more aware of the support services available. The Department should run an awareness campaign to improve public knowledge about strokes

Download or read book A Safer Place for Patients written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-07-06 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Everyday the NHS successfully treats over 1 million people. However there are risks and treatments can go wrong. A report by the Chief Medical Officer in 2000, ('An organisation with a memory', ISBN 0113224419) estimated that one in ten patients admitted to hospital were unintentionally harmed and that a blame culture and lack of a national system for sharing experience were key barriers to reducing the number of patient safety incidents. In Government's response included plans, timetables and targets to promote patient safety and the establishment of the National Patient Safety Agency. This report finds that insufficient progress has been made. In particular there is a question mark over the National Patient Safety Agency because of cost over-runs and delays in its National Reporting and Learning System and the limited feedback it has so far provided to trusts.

Download or read book Improving Poorly Performing Schools in England written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2004-05, approximately £837 million was spent in England on a range of national programmes to help address problems in schools that were failing or at risk of failing to provide an acceptable standard of education for their pupils. Following on from a NAO report (HC 679, session 2005-06; ISBN 0102936633) published in January 2006, the Committee's report examines the activities of the DfES and Ofsted to identify and deal with poorly performing schools, to strengthen school leadership and to develop simpler relationships with schools. Findings include that, although the number of poorly performing schools has been reducing, there are still around 1,500 in England that are under-performing. Improvements in data on secondary school performance has helped to identify schools in decline at an earlier stage so that they can benefit from increased support, and similar improvement needs to be done at primary school level. The system of shorter Ofsted inspections, based on school self-evaluation of performance, may be appropriate for the majority of schools, but some schools are not evaluating themselves effectively and incentives needs to be created to help achieve this. School leadership is essential to achieving and maintaining improvements, and Ofsted reports need to diagnose any leadership problems in failing schools explicitly. Local authorities and other schools are important sources of support for struggling schools and there should be greater opportunities for schools to collaborate and share good practice.

Download or read book Crown Prosecution Service written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following on from a NAO report (HCP 798, session 2005-06, ISBN 0102936978) published in February 2006, the Committee's report concludes that the handling of cases in magistrates' courts has in recent years become complex and protracted to the extent that it no longer amounts to summary justice. 55 per cent of the £173 million cost of delay in the magistrates' courts is attributable to the defence, but the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) account for another 14 per cent (£24 million) each. The CPS needs to review its organisational structure, revise its system for preparing for magistrates' court cases by adopting current best practice, and address the cultural resistance within the organisation to more modern working practices.

Download or read book Consular Services to British Nationals written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-04-20 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (the Department) provides a wide range of consular services from over 200 Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates ("Posts") worldwide. On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (HC 594, session 2005-06, ISBN 010293617X), the Committee examined three main issues: their progress in influencing British nationals travelling overseas; developing consular services as a responsive service; and reacting to consular crises. The Department has made some significant innovations, such as working with operators like EasyJet and publishing the Rough Guide to Safer Travel, to increase its influence on those travelling overseas. But consular staff are increasingly called to help the irresponsible minority whose problems may have been avoided by greater awareness and planning before travelling, or by sensible behaviour once abroad. The Department used its existing powers to charge for consular services in just 323 out of 84,000 assistance cases. In 2001, the Department procured a casework management system at a cost to date of £3.3 million, but this has not been successfully embedded across the organisation, and has not produced the management information the Department needs to manage its consular business effectively. Issuing passports at over 100 Posts is inefficient and exposes the Department to increasing risks from fraudulent applications. The Department has improved its crisis management capabilities since 2001, although there has been slow progress in updating and testing emergency plans at Posts. The Indian Ocean Tsunami presented an extreme challenge for consular services; their call centres were overwhelmed and they were unable to assist British nationals as quickly as they would have wished.

Download or read book Policy Management and Finance of Public Private Partnerships written by Akintola Akintoye and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-01-26 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines some of the key policy, financial and managerialaspects of public-private partnerships within the context of theglobal spread of this form of procurement. The chapters investigate political and institutional issuessurrounding PPPs, together with the financial and managerialstrategies employed by the private sector. Adopting across-disciplinary perspective, the book highlights the oftenpolitically sensitive nature of these projects and identifies aneed for the private sector to investigate a broad set ofparameters which relate to the particular political economy ofindividual partnerships. Policy, Finance & Management for Public-Private Partnershipscovers a range of specific issues, including: partnerships indeveloping countries; innovation in partnership-based procurement;government and business interaction; institutional andorganisational approaches to facilitating partnership; project andcorporate financing; risk and value management; market analysis,modelling and forecasting; capital structure decisions andmanagement; investment theory and practice; pricing and costevaluation; statutory regulations and their financial implications;option pricing; financial monitoring; syndicate funding; new rolesfor the financial and insurance sectors; institutional andmultilateral funding; payment mechanisms; concession perioddetermination; risk analysis and management; whole life valuemethodology; cost comparators and best value; team building, teamwork and skill development. Contributions from Australia, Europe, the Far East, South Africaand the United States together present the current thinking andstate-of-the-art approaches to public-private partnerships.