Scottish policy initiatives need better monitoring and control, says auditor

10 Nov 05
The monitoring and control of Scottish Executive policy initiatives costing some £1.4bn needs to be improved, Audit Scotland has concluded.

11 November 2005

The monitoring and control of Scottish Executive policy initiatives costing some £1.4bn needs to be improved, Audit Scotland has concluded.

In a report published this week, the watchdog found that the management of new projects was generally sound. But it said tighter funding control was needed as well as better assessment of whether policy aims were being achieved.

Deputy auditor general Caroline Gardner said the report How government works: the Scottish Executive – supporting new initiatives, came at an important time, with the Executive increasingly working with partner organisations to achieve its policy goals.

She added: 'The report concludes that the arrangements in place for most projects comply with good practice principles established by Audit Scotland.

'However, there is scope for improvement in areas such as objective-setting, links with delivery partners and monitoring and evaluation arrangements.'

The Audit Scotland study assessed the quality of the arrangements for managing and monitoring 74 projects or schemes with specific policy objectives. The arrangements fell short of good practice for monitoring in 40% of projects and, for evaluation, in 55% of the projects.

The framework for monitoring and evaluation was often developed after funding bids had been approved, the report stated.

The report was based on a sample of 20 initiatives for which more than £1.4bn of funding was announced during 2004.

They included community regeneration, the development of sports facilities, the prevention of youth crime and the development of new businesses. Most of the funding is distributed through partners, including local authorities and the voluntary sector.

'A few projects could be at risk because of inadequate controls,' the report says, although in most cases funding was properly directed and arrangements were in place for their effectiveness to be assessed.

Audit Scotland's recommendations include improvements in guidance to staff on setting objectives, contracting and monitoring.

PFnov2005

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