NAO boasts of £1.4bn savings over 3 years

19 Jul 01
The National Audit Office has saved taxpayers £1.4bn over the past three financial years, according to its annual report.

20 July 2001

The public spending watchdog ensured money from the public purse was spent more efficiently by government departments through a stringent auditing regime. In doing so, the NAO, which cost £44.4m to run in 2000/01, met its performance target of saving the taxpayer £8 for every £1 it spends on administration.

Savings of £124m were achieved as a result of the NAO's examination of the Private Finance Initiative, said its report, Helping the nation spend wisely. A further £51m was saved by its work on the National Insurance fund.

Last year the NAO presented 53 value-for-money reports to Parliament, covering subjects from the Millennium Dome to the humanitarian crisis in Kosovo. It audited £650bn of government expenditure and revenue over the same period.

It is encouraging public bodies to take up its recommendations voluntarily by staging a series of good practice conferences on issues such as further education and risk management. It has also tried to reduce the audit burden on public bodies by working more closely with other regulators, such as the Audit Commission.

Sir John Bourn, comptroller and auditor general, said: 'We always aim to make our contribution as constructive as possible and to make recommendations that will make a real difference to the quality of services delivered.'

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