National Audit Office saves UK £515m

21 Jul 05
The National Audit Office saved taxpayers £515m in the last year, according to its annual report published this week.

22 July 2005

The National Audit Office saved taxpayers £515m in the last year, according to its annual report published this week.

This exceeded the NAO's target of saving £8 for every £1 spent on running the office, which monitors the spending of all government departments and a wide range of other public sector bodies.

The gains were achieved, the NAO said, by such means as sharing in Private Finance Initiative refinancing gains, dissemination of good practice, reductions in benefit overpayments, and improved procurement.

But auditor general and NAO head Sir John Bourn stressed that the office should also be a force for improvement, helping public service managers to enhance performance.

The NAO audited more than 570 accounts covering some £800bn of revenue and expenditure. In addition, Bourn presented 61 major reports to Parliament.

Bourn said: 'We are in a strong position to offer authoritative analysis and advice on the most important and topical issues of the day. Our mission is to help the nation spend wisely.'

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