Download or read book The Procurement of the National Roads Telecommunications Services 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 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The strategic road network in England, consisting of 4,800 miles (7,700 km) of trunk roads and motorways, is managed by the Highways Agency (the Agency), an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport. Since 1998, the objective of the Agency has been to reduce traffic congestion through improved traffic monitoring and travel information. In September 2005, the Agency signed a 10½-year Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract for the National Roads Telecommunications Services (NRTS) with GeneSYS Telecommunications Ltd. At contract award, the Agency expected that the contract would cost £385 million (present value in 2004 prices). The procurement took five years to complete, rather than the original estimate of 21 months, and the procurement process cost five times the original budget of £3 million. The Committee criticises the 17-month short-listing period. It also points to the use of the Public Sector Comparator cost as a single figure estimate, rather than a range, which is not good practice in determining whether a Public Private Partnership approach is good value. The Agency did not deploy effective controls over the work of its advisers, with only two staff proving insufficient to ensure the advisers conducted their work efficiently, and there were no incentives in the advisers' contracts that expressly encouraged efficiency. Careful preparation and production of the bid documents is praised. From October 2007, following a two-year upgrade of the telecommunications systems, the new services became operational and benefits for road users from other Agency projects dependent on the NRTS are beginning to be realised.

Download or read book The Procurement of the National Roads Telecommunications Services written by Great Britain. National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This NAO report (HCP 340, ISBN 9780102953152) examines the procurement of national roads telecommunications services. The strategic road network in England consists of 7,700 km (4,800 miles) of trunk and motorways under the responsibility of the Highways Agency. The Agency's role is that of a network operator with the objectives to reduce traffic congestion through improved traffic monitoring and travel information. To achieve this aim, the Agency decided it required an improved motorway telecommunications system, so that live data about traffic conditions could be supplied. The Agency sought to upgrade all its telecommunications systems with digital technology, which would include laying 278 km of high transmission capacity fibre optic cables, later reduced to 110 km on affordability grounds. In September 2005, the Highways Agency and GeneSYS Telecommunications Ltd signed a ten and half year Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract to upgrade, operate and maintain the telecommunications cables and transmission equipment. The NAO has set out a number of findings on the procurement of the project, including: that the Agency had good value for money through PPP because it transferred the risk to a contractor; that on selecting the preferred bidder, GeneSYS, the Agency negotiated the final details of the deal without conceding an increase in price and allocation; the Agency though struggled to quantify the amount of work needed to compete the project, with the tendering phase lasting more than 4 years and the cost of professional advice rising to £15.5 million. The NAO has also set out a number of recommendations, including: that delaying going to the market until the scope and structure of a project are clear should result in a more realistic timetable; authorities should always consider carefully whether the expected scale of future changes to the services they require make a standard PPP contract suitable; public sector comparators should not be used as the sole test of value for money; that the Highway's Agency example of obtaining and analysing bidder's prices and financial models is a good practice to follow by authorities and in turn should produce realistic procurement budgets and timetables; that major projects undergone by authorities should formally evaluate the impact of the changes to overall value for money of the project.

Download or read book Procurement of the M25 private finance contract written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-11-19 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The slowness with which the Highways Agency's PFI contract to widen the M25 was taken forward resulted in higher financing costs in the credit crisis. Moreover, the Agency was slow to investigate a potentially cheaper alternative to widening. An 18-month delay in preparing and finalizing the widening procurement meant that the contract was let in May 2009 at the height of the credit crisis. This increased the net present cost of the deal by £660 million (24 per cent) to £3.4 billion. The case for PFI was less convincing than the Agency thought owing to shortcomings in its cost estimation process. The Government had announced in 2003 its intention to reduce congestion on the M25. The Agency was starting to carry out trials at that time of an alternative, potentially cheaper solution of hard shoulder running (allowing drivers to use the hard shoulder at times of peak congestion), first tested in Europe in 1996. The NAO estimates the savings from a conventionally procured hard shoulder running solution might range between £400 million and £1.1 billion. The Agency, however, doubted the technique's suitability for one of the sections of the M25 being widened which has high traffic flow and whether operation and maintenance savings could be achieved through conventional procurement

Download or read book Handbook of Procurement written by Nicola Dimitri and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2006-09-28 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can organizations ensure that they can get best value for money in their procurement decisions? How can they stimulate innovations from their dedicated suppliers? With contributions from leading academics and professionals, this 2006 handbook offers expert guidance on the fundamental aspects of successful procurement design and management in firms, public administrations, and international institutions. The issues addressed include the management of dynamic procurement; the handling of procurement risk; the architecture of purchasing systems; the structure of incentives in procurement contracts; methods to increase suppliers' participation in procurement contests and e-procurement platforms; how to minimize the risk of collusion and of corruption; pricing and reputation mechanisms in e-procurement platforms; and how procurement can enhance innovation. Inspired by frontier research, it provides practical recommendations to managers, engineers and lawyers engaged in private and public procurement design.

Download or read book The major road network written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-30 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Incorporating HC 533, session 2008-09

Download or read book Hmrc 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 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tax lost through the hidden economy could be over £2 billion and involve some 2 million people. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) spent 41 million in 2006-07 on encouraging people and businesses into the formal economy, detecting and imposing sanctions on those operating in the hidden economy, achieving a return/cost ration of 4.5:1. HMRC detects some 30,000 hidden economy cases a year, a detection rate of only around 1.5 per cent, but the amount of tax recovered has increased by 13 per cent in real terms since 2003-04. Areas of risk include: self-employed builders and decorators who often receive cash payments; individuals who trade on the internet; and buy-to-let landlords. To increase detections HMRC is making more use of data matching techniques, and the Tax Evasion hotline received over 120,000 calls in 2006-07, but progress in investigating cases has been slow with only 2000 completed against a target of 5,500. HMRC can impose penalties of up to 100 per cent of tax owed, but usually imposes a lower penalty or waives them. Prosecutions are not given much publicity, limiting their wider deterrent effect. Advertising campaigns to encourage people to declare tax owed have led to 8,300 registrations bringing in extra tax of £38 million over three years. Offshore Disclosure arrangements have been even more successful following landmark rulings requiring financial institutions to release details of around 400,000 offshore accounts. Some 45,000 people came forward bringing in around £400 million at a cost of £6 million, a return of £67 for every £1 spent.

Download or read book Private finance projects and off balance sheet debt written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Select Committee on Economic Affairs and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-17 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A report that recommends a reform of the way, financial liabilities arising from private finance projects (PFPs) are treated in public accounts. It also deals with the growth in the secondary market for PFPs where investors sell on their stake in a project, in many cases once the construction period of that project has been completed.

Download or read book British Council written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Public Accounts Committee 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 report (HC 814, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215525468) looks at the work of the British Council and what impact the Council has working with whole societies, how it makes best use of resources and their efforts to increase consistency across the British Council network. It follows an NAO report (HCP 625, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780102954173), on the same topic. The British Council is a Registered Charity and an executive Non-Departmental Public Body as well as a Public Corporation. It aims to build relationships between people in the UK and other countries, through teaching English and running cultural projects. It operates in over 110 countries and engages with over 15 million people a year worldwide. The Committee has set out a number of conclusions and recommendations, including: that the British Council should be congratulated for its achievements in promoting the English language and culture overseas; the Committee believes though that the current teaching model, based on premium prices and concentrated mainly in capital cities, severely restricts its reach; that the Council's recent programme of change has had a negative effect on staff and their view of the Council's leadership; the Council is without a single customer relationship management system, which it is now going to address; that sponsorship and partner income has fallen year on year since 2000-01, and the Council should do more to reverse this trend; the Committee has identified a lack of consistency across the network.

Download or read book Shared Services in the Department for Transport and Its Agencies written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Public Accounts Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The NAO report on this topic published as HCP 481, session 2007-08 (ISBN 9780102954159)

Download or read book Meeting Needs written by House of Commons and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-10-30 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Giving offenders opportunities to improve their basic and vocational skills can enhance their prospects of getting a job and is a major part of the Government's policy for reducing re-offending. In 2003, Ministers decided that the Learning and Skills Council (the LSC) should take over responsibility for a new Offenders' Learning and Skills Service which, after piloting, the LSC rolled out across England in July 2006. Delivering learning and skills to offenders is challenging, because the operational requirements of the Criminal Justice System takes priority, and because offenders often have other problems such as mental health difficulties and dependence on alcohol or drugs. Nevertheless, the new Service set out to overcome many of these longstanding problems. In practice it has not succeeded. The National Audit Office's examination of prisoners' learning records showed that there was not record of assessment for a quarter of prisoners. Learning plans are frequently deficient and not recording progress. Also, although enrolment is voluntary, more could be done to motivate offenders to take up opportunities. There is currently no core curriculum and inconsistencies make continuation difficult when prisoners transfer between prisons or into probation. The prison service and education providers are not working adequately together and there is insufficient research to allow informed changes. On the basis of the NAO report the Committee took evidence from the LSC, National Offender Management Service & the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills

Download or read book Protecting Consumers 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 52nd report from the Committee of Public Accounts (HC 571, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215524928), and it follows an NAO report (HC 342, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780102953114). It looks at protection of consumers through removal of price controls by regulators, examines the benefits of this decision to different groups of consumers and the challenges of regulating these markets. The regulators Ofcom, Ofgem and Postcomm have statutory objectives requiring them to protect consumers through the introduction of competition, where appropriate. Between 2002 and 2006, each removed retail price controls from the following: fixed line telephone provision; gas and electricity supply; special delivery postal services for business account users. Once price controls are removed, regulators rely on consumers to switch suppliers, so in theory rewarding companies who offer good service and competitive prices. For this to work, consumers need good information about the different suppliers, must be able to switch supplier easily, have confidence in the market to believe changing supplier will make a difference and, when necessary, obtain redress if the company behaves anti-competitively. Regulators need to ensure the competition is working effectively and that there is protection for vulnerable consumers, especially at a time of large increases in energy prices and telecoms prices above those of most countries.

Download or read book Compensating Victims of Violent Crime 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 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme makes financial awards to individuals who have been injured as a result of violent crime. The Scheme is administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, a non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Justice. Appeal against the Authority's decisions are heard by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel which is part of the Tribunals Service, an executive agency of the Ministry. Between 2000 and 2006, performance in dealing with claims deteriorate due to poor management within the Authority, combined with a lack of oversight by the sponsoring department. In the seven years since the subject was previously examined only 5 of 16 recommendation have been met in full. On the basis of a report by Comptroller and Auditor General, the Committee examined the Ministry, Authority & Tribunals Service on the reasons for the deterioration in performance

Download or read book The Supervision of Community Orders in England and Wales written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-11-04 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since their introduction under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, community orders have offered courts the ability to impose a range of 12 possible 'requirements', including accredited programmes (such as anger management courses or alcohol and drug rehabilitation), unpaid work in the community and supervision by the National Probation Service. There is little information available nationally on the effectiveness of community orders. On the key measure of reconviction, figures from the Ministry of Justice showed that for those sentenced to community orders, their actual reconviction rate was significantly lower than those sentenced to custodial sentences for similar offences. There is, though, no basic information such as national data on whether offenders have completed their community orders, nor on why offenders have failed to complete them. The National Probation Service has set national standards but these are applied inconsistently. The Ministry's current method of funding Probation Areas is unsatisfactory and slow to respond to changes in demand from the courts and it is felt that there is a need for a more flexible system. On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Committee examined the Ministry of Justice on increasing effectiveness of community orders; building the confidence of both the court and the community in community orders; improving the funding formula; and tightening adherence to the requirements of orders.

Download or read book Reducing Passenger Rail Delays by Better Management of Incidents 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 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the 53rd report from the Committee of Public Accounts (HCP 655, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215524973), and examines how the rail industry, led by the Department for Transport and Network Rail, manages incidents on the rail network, and how passengers are treated when delays occur. The Committee has set out a number of conclusions and recommendations, including: that Network Rail receives only half of its funding from the taxpayer but as a private sector company it is not directly accountable to Parliament, the Committee states the Department should strengthen the governance and accountability arrangements; that the Office of Rail Regulation should review and revise targets where appropriate to take account of changing conditions and challenges; the Committee states that the Department needs to play a more active role in bringing together the rail industry, emergency services and other stakeholders to improve incident management; and further that the Office of Rail Regulation should make sure mechanisms are in place so that the emergency services know who to contact during rail incidents; that passengers are not receiving the information they need during delays and are not always told how to claim compensation for delays. During the 2006-07 period over 1.2 billion passenger journeys were made in Great Britain on services that arrived on time almost nine times out of ten. The Department provided £3.4 billion to Network Rail and £1.7 billion to the train operating companies, whilst passengers paid some £5.1 billion in fares, with the NAO estimating that delays cost passengers £1 billion in terms of lost time. This report follows on from a National Audit Office report (HCP 308, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780102953053).

Download or read book Public Private Partnerships and the Law written by Yseult Marique and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-30 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely book examines the legal regulation of Public_Private Partnerships (PPPs) and provides a systematic overview of PPPs and their functions. It covers both the contractual relationships between public and private actors and the relationships be

Download or read book Making Grants Efficiently in the Culture Media and Sport Sector 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 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This inquiry took evidence from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (the Department), Arts Council England, Big Lottery Fund, English Heritage and Sport England on assessing the cost-efficiency of making grants; on supporting grant applicants; on sharing services and information; and on making applications on-line. In 2006-07, the nine principal grant-makers sponsored by the Department awarded grants of £1.8 billion, and spent £200 million on administering the grants and related activities. The grants ranged in size from £200 to many millions of pounds. The bodies held little information on the costs of their individual grant programmes and how these costs compare with others. The average cost of awarding £1 of grant across a sample of open application programmes in the sector ranged from three pence to 35 pence. Much of the variance in cost can be explained by the different objectives of the programmes and the needs of applicants. Grant-makers often receive applications which are incomplete or inaccurate. One way they could reduce the burden on grant applicants would be through inviting applications on-line. This would also help reduce the costs to grant-makers by reducing the amount of paper applications they have to process and the number of incomplete and ineligible applications. In the past, the Committee has recommended that the Department should take the lead in identifying the scope for savings by encouraging the organisations it funds to share accommodation and services. Little progress appears to be have made in this area. The Department has also done little to encourage benchmarking and the sharing of good practice across the sector.

Download or read book Federal Register written by and published by . This book was released on 1971 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: