A shortfall in digital and procurement expertise across government has led to taxpayers’ money being wasted and progress on transformation losing pace, according to the National Audit Office.
The UK spending watchdog has raised concerns about the Government Property Agency’s accounting, leading to it qualifying its opinion on the Cabinet Office’s accounts for 2023-24.
Senior audit manager at the National Audit Office Chris Coyne explains the value in the NAO’s good practice guides, including the latest on resource allocation.
The overwhelming lack of reliable financial data submitted by the English local authority sector to the Whole of Government Accounts has led the comptroller and auditor general to disclaim his...
The government has been urged to balance the UK’s strategic interests in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine against the maintenance of its own military resources.
The scale of the financial issues English health services face now and in the coming years is “unprecedented”, the National Audit Office has claimed in a report – with the government claiming the NHS...
An ambitious expansion in free childcare for working parents may not represent value for money, and could undermine wider socio-economic objectives, the national spending watchdog has warned.
Government plans to house asylum seekers in barges and former military sites will cost £46m more than continuing to use hotels, according to a report from the National Audit Office.
Lower-than-expected uptake of government heat pump incentives risks slowing one of the UK’s biggest opportunities to lower its carbon emissions, the National Audit Office has warned.
Delays and a poor initial estimate for developing a new medical research facility have seen costs soar and “undermined” future resilience to public health emergencies and value for money, the...
The government does not properly monitor the effectiveness of tax reliefs, meaning billions of pounds of subsidies may not deliver economic growth, the National Audit Office has said.
Concerns over the pace and fairness of government compensation and financial redress schemes have prompted the Public Accounts Committee to request that the National Audit Office investigate.
The government cannot demonstrate that biomass generators are meeting sustainability targets, the National Audit Office has said, casting doubt over the effectiveness of subsidies.
Company failure can present the public sector with extremely high levels of risk. Simon Reason of the National Audit Office explains some work the watchdog has done preparing a report setting...
Existing council spending pressures and the lack of long-term funding certainty could put the government’s 10-year reform programme at risk, the National Audit Office has said.
Matthew Rees and Iain Forrester of the National Audit Office share some of their findings after looking into the state of UK government procurement, and stress the importance of ensuring competition...
Improving procurement practices has the potential to boost value for money in public spending, but the government needs to ensure competition is at the heart of the process, the National Audit Office...
Construction delays and overspends on existing developments mean the government will miss its election target to build 40 hospitals by 2030, the National Audit Office has warned.
The failure to pay benefit claimants the correct level of support was a contributing factor in the National Audit Office giving a qualified opinion on the Department for Work and Pensions’ accounts.
The government’s growing debt burden and high interest costs are a key risk to public finances and must be managed carefully, the National Audit Office has said.
The fall in productivity since the onset of Covid-19 has meant the NHS has been unable to “secure the full benefits” of increased spending and staff numbers, the National Audit Office has warned.
