Download or read book Reducing costs in the Department for Transport written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2011-12-14 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 2010 spending review set a transport budget that is 15 per cent lower in 2014-15 compared with 2010-11. All areas of spending are affected by reductions, but the Highways Agency sees the biggest reduction, with a budget falling from £3.2 billion in 2010-11 to £2.1 billion in 2014-15. The Department felt constrained in altering some areas of spending, most significantly excluding from consideration the current grant to Network Rail. In a sample of 73 per cent of the Department's budget, over half of the reductions, compared to planned spending, are the result of cuts, delays to new investment or higher fares rather than new approaches to delivering the same services for less. The Department had a good understanding of the relationship between costs and benefits regarding specific transport projects such as Crossrail and national road schemes. Information was less good in other areas, the weakest being in rail. The Department commissioned work to improve its information on the costs and benefits from grants to Transport for London and local authorities. There is a risk now that a proportion of the budget reductions in road maintenance and rail budgets may not be financially sustainable. Budget reductions of £1.23 billion will be made to national and local road maintenance; however, this includes £223 million of unspecified efficiencies, risking deterioration in road quality and higher long term costs to the Department or local authorities. One year after the spending review, it is too early to assess with confidence progress on the major cost reduction measures, as most of the critical milestones against which progress can be judged lie ahead

Download or read book Reorganising central government written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-18 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between May 2005 and June 2009, there were over 90 reorganisations to central government. This report finds that these cannot demonstrate value for money, given that most had vague objectives and that costs and benefits were not tracked. The average annual cost of reorganisations is almost £200 million, around 85 per cent of which is for the reorganisation of arms length bodies. Since 1980, 25 central government departments have been created, including 13 which no longer exist. By comparison, in the United States only two new departments have been created over the same period. Central government bodies are weak at identifying and securing the benefits they hope to gain from reorganisation. There is no standard approach for preparing and assessing business cases setting out intended benefits against expected costs. More than half of reorganisations do not compare expected costs and benefits of alternative options, so there can be no certainty that the chosen approaches are the most cost effective. Furthermore, no departments set metrics to track the benefits that should justify reorganisation - making it impossible for them to demonstrate that the eventual benefits outweigh costs. There is no requirement for bodies to disclose the costs of reorganisations after they happen - meaning the true cost of reorganisation is often hidden. The decisions to reorganise departments and arms length bodies are often taken at short notice and with inadequate understanding of what could go wrong.

Download or read book Cost reduction in central government written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-02-02 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report by the National Audit Office on progress by central government departments in reducing costs concludes that departments took effective action in 2010-11, cutting spending in real terms by 2.3 per cent or £7.9 billion, compared with 2009-10. The analysis of departments' accounts supports the Efficiency and Reform Group's estimate that Government spending moratoria and efficiency initiatives, including cuts to back-office and avoidable costs, contributed around half of the figure, some £3.75 billion. However, the report warns that departments are less well-placed to make the long-term changes needed to achieve the further 19 per cent over the four years to 2014-15, as required by the spending review. This is partly because of gaps in their understanding of costs and risks, making it more difficult to identify how to deliver activities and services at a permanently lower cost. Fundamental changes will be needed to achieve sustainable reductions on the scale required. It is unclear how far spending reductions represent year-on-year changes in efficiency, or whether front-line services are affected; and the departments' forward plans examined by the NAO are not based on a strategic view. Departments' financial data on basic spending patterns is sufficient to manage budgets in-year, but information about the consequences of changes in spending is less good. Longer term reform is a Cabinet Office priority and departments will need to look beyond short-term cost cutting measures and make major operational change. Cost reduction plans also need to build in contingency measures to cover unexpected risks.

Download or read book PFI in housing written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-06-25 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report, from the National Audit Office (HCP 71, session 2010-11, ISBN 9780102965285), looks at PFI in Housing. The use of PFI by local authorities to improve housing, usually in areas with a high need for housing and where the stock condition is particularly poor, has had a measure of success, but risks to value for money of the programme have not been managed. In the context of this programme, PFI has been a flexible and useful funding route for local authorities to improve existing housing and build new stock. However, the majority of projects required significant increases in central funding prior to contract signature and all have suffered delays. Twenty one of the 25 projects which have been signed to date have experienced cost increases, with 12 of these over 100 per cent. All signed projects, for which the NAO was able to obtain data, were delayed, on average by 2 years and 6 months. For early projects this was partly because PFI was new to the housing sector and the Department for Communities and Local Government had to develop its understanding of stock condition issues. Also, the Department's management for early projects was also weak and under-resourced. While the capital cost of PFI housing projects is similar to other developments, the Department's evaluation to date has not taken account of the full costs. Procurement also tends to take more time, which can increase procurement and tender costs for local authorities and bidders.

Download or read book Lessons from PFI and other projects written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2011-04-28 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lessons from the experience of using PFI can be applied to improve other forms of procurement and help Government achieve its aim of securing annual infrastructure delivery cost savings of £2 billion to £3 billion. To secure the best value for money from all types of procurement, the public sector needs to develop skills the NAO has identified. These are collecting better data to inform decision-making; ensuring projects have the right skills; establishing effective arrangements to test, challenge and, if necessary, stop projects; and using commercial awareness to obtain better deals. The case for using private finance in public procurement needs to be challenged more. Also, privately financed projects will often still be off balance-sheet which may continue to act as an incentive to use PFI. There has not been a systematic value for money evaluation of operational PFI projects by departments. So there is insufficient data to demonstrate whether the use of private finance has led to better or worse value for money than other forms of procurement. The Treasury and departments should identify alternative methods for delivering infrastructure and related facilities services to maximise value for money for government. The NAO welcomes the current plans of the Treasury and Cabinet Office to strengthen project assurance. The report highlights the need for independent challenge capable of stopping projects which do not give the prospect of value for money. This is particularly important as there is still a shortage of the skills needed to manage and oversee complex major projects.

Download or read book National policy statement for waste water written by Great Britain: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-03-26 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Waste water treatment infrastructure is essential for public health and a clean environment. Demand for new and improved waste water infrastructure is likely to be driven by the following: (i) More stringent statutory requirements to protect the environment and water quality; (ii) Population growth and urbanisation; (iii) Replacement or improvement of infrastructure; (iv) Adaptation to climate change. This National Policy Statement (NPS) sets out Government policy for the provision of major waste water infrastructure as defined in the Planning Act 2008 (ISBN 9780105429081). It will be used as the primary basis for deciding development consent applications for waste water developments that fall within the definition of Nationally Significant infrastructure Projects (NSIP). The publication is divided into four chapters and four annexes: Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: Government policy on need for waste water infrastructure; Chapter 3 Factors for examination and determination of applications; Chapter 4: Generic impacts.

Download or read book National Audit Office Charity Commission The Cup Trust HC 814 written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-12-04 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Charity Commission did not properly consider whether The Cup Trust met the key legal requirement of being within the jurisdiction of the High Court of England and Wales before registering it as a charity in 2009, and was slow in handling the case. Earlier this year, the Public Accounts Committee concluded that The Cup Trust had been set up as a tax avoidance scheme. The Cup Trust submitted claims for £46 million Gift Aid on £176 million of payments from participants to the scheme, but gave just £152,292 to charitable causes between April 2009 and March 2013. The Gift Aid claims have not been paid. The Charity Commission did not give sufficient consideration to issues which might have enabled it to open a statutory inquiry into the Cup Trust in March 2011, and that it was slow to appreciate the potential impact of the case on public confidence in charities, which it has a statutory duty to increase. The Charity Commission did not take sufficient account of the scale and nature of the tax avoidance scheme in its case strategy, was narrowly focused on the legal position and paid insufficient attention to the wider issues of public detriment, which it would have been appropriate to pursue further.

Download or read book Alignment written by Great Britain. Treasury and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 2007 green paper "The governance of Britain" (Cm. 7170, ISBN 9780101717021) the Government made a commitment to simplify financial reporting to Parliament, ensuring that it reports in a more consistent, transparent and straightforward fashion at all three stages in the process - budgets, estimates and expenditure outcomes. The Govenrment uses budgets to plan what it will spend, presents estimates to Parliament for approval and then, after the year end, publishes resource accounts. This document sets out the Government's proposals for achieving better alignment between budgets, estimates and accounts. It follows much consultation with the Public Accounts, Treasury, Liaison, Procedure and Modernisation committees of the House of Commons and the National Audit Office and internal and external stakeholders.

Download or read book London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-12-05 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this review, the success of the Games is underlined - the opening and closing ceremonies and 11 million tickets sold, LOCCOG met the challenge of recruiting and deploying 70,000 volunteers and medal targets were exceeded. The review also stresses the importance of building on that success to deliver the promised legacy benefits. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has managed the £9.3 billion Public Sector Funding Package since 2005. There is likely to be a £377 million underspend, though the final position depends on the accuracy of assumptions about remaining expenditure and will not be known precisely until 2014. The final cost of converting the Athletes' Village, and of settling outstanding contracts with suppliers remains uncertain. Operational costs within the package increased, with £500 million additional costs for venue security. The final cost of the Olympic Delivery Authority's programme to build the venues and associated infrastructure is expected to be around £6.7 billion, compared to the £8.1 billion that was originally available to it. The Cabinet Office now has central responsibility, with numerous organisations responsible for particular aspects of the legacy, for coordinating and assuring delivery of the legacy. Whilst future use of the Olympic Stadium is still uncertain, most venues and facilities on the Olympic Park now have an agreed long-term use and legacy tenant. The NAO also recommends that the valuable skills in project management, contracting and risk management gained by officials who have worked on the Games be deployed on other public sector projects.

Download or read book Summer Budget 2015 written by Great Britain: H.M. Treasury and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-08 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Print and web pdfs available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications. Known as the Red Book. Published alongside Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic & Fiscal Outlook July 2015 (Cm. 9088, ISBN 9781474122870). On title page: Return to an order of the House of Commons dated 8 July 2015. Copy of the budget report - July 2015 as laid before the House of Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer when opening the Budget Web ISBN=9781474122740

Download or read book Financial Sustainability of Local Authorities written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-01-30 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Department for Communities and Local Government should work with other government departments to improve the evaluation of the impact of decisions on local authority finances and services. Local authorities have, so far, managed with reduced funding, but more are facing the challenge of avoiding financial difficulties while meeting their obligations. Central government planned at the 2010 spending review to reduce funding of local authorities by £7.6 billion (26 per cent) in real terms between April 2011 and March 2015. The effects on local authorities vary. In 2012-13, the overall reduction in spending power ranges from 1.1 per cent to 8.8 per cent. At the same time, demand for high-cost services, such as adult and children's social care, is increasing. The scope is diminishing for absorbing cost pressures through reducing other, lower cost, services given that spending on these services has already been reduced. Departments have assessed the impact of changes to local authority funding, but their approach needs to be more comprehensive in the future. The accountability framework for addressing widespread financial failure in local government is untested. Where there have been one-off failures requiring central government intervention, the failure regime has managed to resolve them. It is not known how the system would respond in the case of multiple financial failures in more challenging times for local authorities.

Download or read book Northern Ireland Affairs Committee written by Stationery Office, The and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Missing Billions written by Richard Murphy and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The work of the Committee in 2007 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Northern Ireland Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-01-30 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: work of the Committee In 2007 : Second report of session 2007-08, report, together with formal Minutes

Download or read book Public Expenditure in Northern Ireland written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Northern Ireland Affairs Committee and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Government s Response to the 3rd Report in the 1996 97 Session of the House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee written by Great Britain. Northern Ireland Office and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 3 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Work of the Committee In 2003 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Northern Ireland Affairs Committee and published by . This book was released on 2004-04-28 with total page 3 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reply to Committee's 1st report, HCP 146 session 2003-04 (ISBN 021504650)