UK National Audit Office

Every year since 1989, we've highlighted the high levels of fraud and error in benefit payments administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) as part of our audit of its accounts. This has given us unique insights into the ways DWP could bring down the level of benefit fraud and error.   Joshua Reddaway has distilled these insights down into 3 key actions DWP can take.   Read his Civil Service World column now: https://lnkd.in/gn_zd4rK   #BenefitFraud #Benefits #DWP

The head of the NAO, Gareth Davies, outlined how government could make public money work harder in The i paper. This includes opportunities around major infrastructure projects, and enablers such as better use of data. Read what he had to say on our website now 👇 https://lnkd.in/eXEbGqUR #PublicSpending

Government needs to make public money work harder. https://lnkd.in/ggcB_vvi We believe there are significant opportunities for government to get better value for public money through well managed innovation, including adopting new technologies, to increase efficiency and improve services. Our short publication Making public money work harder highlights elements of public spending where we see the most scope for improvement in efficiency and effectiveness. These are relevant to all parts of government. They are intended to help maximise the chances of success for new programmes and avoid the repetition of past problems. Read our insights on making public money work harder: https://lnkd.in/ggcB_vvi

Parliament is back, and all eyes are on the upcoming Budget – the first of the new government. Alongside the inevitable difficult choices, there is also the imperative to make the available resources go further. In my new op-ed for iNews, I argue there’s significant potential for spending public money more efficiently and effectively. I focus on two areas in particular:    🏗️ Major infrastructure projects  · £805bn estimated cost of government’s 244 largest infrastructure projects · Yet there’s a governance problem in delivering these projects · Insufficient realism on the likely range of costs, poor control of the specification, misaligned commercial incentives and supply chain inflation all contribute to escalating costs · Using private finance to fund projects also comes with risks – although good examples exist that can help new schemes avoid these problems    🧾 Reducing fraud and error  · £40bn ‘tax gap’ in 2022-23 (according to HMRC) + DWP overpaid £9.4bn in benefits last year · Both departments working hard to improve defences against fraud – but overall levels have increased since pandemic · Acknowledging fraud and error in policy design from the outset, measuring losses each year, and identifying new methods can help government efforts    Alongside these examples, government must also be focused on improving productivity in public services. Our work has identified four enablers for this:    🖥️ Timely, robust data  🔬 Innovation and evaluation  📖  A sustainable approach to planning and spending  🤝 The leadership, skills and culture to succeed    By taking on board these insights, we can maximise the chances of success for new programmes, avoid repeating past mistakes – and make public money work harder.  Read my op-ed in iNews: https://lnkd.in/dCyMm_2Y

Writing in Public Sector Focus, Matthew Rees has set out six recommendations to procure common goods and services more efficiently. • reduce commissions charged by framework operators • more bulk-buying and aggregation by government • attract more suppliers and increase competition for contracts • establish an accreditation regime for framework providers • greater rivalry between framework providers to enhance value • better data and greater transparency in public procurement Following these recommendations could lead to half a billion pounds in savings for government. Read it here ⤵️ Article: https://lnkd.in/eeT8ZgGF #Procurement #GovernmentEfficiency #PublicSector

The public sector could save £500m over five years if it improves the efficiency and transparency of public procurement. https://lnkd.in/e3X-Av4J The public sector spends £125 billion a year on common goods and services, such as energy, temporary staff, travel and technology. Much of this is spent via Procurement Frameworks, which have become the most common route to market for public sector buyers. Crown Commercial Service, or CCS, is the largest provider of Public Procurement Frameworks, and £25 billion, or one fifth of this total spend, flows through its frameworks. CCS has made good progress in the past 5 years. For example: • almost 20,000 public bodies have used CCS’s procurement frameworks • around 4,000 suppliers are listed on its frameworks • departments told us that CCS has a good understanding of the market, how to save them time and make procurement easier • CCS is now seen by many departments as their default choice for common goods and services But there is more that CCS could do: • if CCS halved the “levy” it collects from suppliers and the government makes sure the savings are passed through as price reductions by suppliers, the public sector could avoid half a billion pounds in costs over five years • CCS should complete its review of category strategies, attract more suppliers to its frameworks and promote fair competition at the contract award stage The government could also do more to improve value for money in procurement, including: • look at why there are so many framework operators and how this affects value for money • identify more opportunities for collective buying; and • attract more suppliers to deliver estimated benefits of £4-7.7 billion through effective competition Read our report to find out how government can make savings through procurement: https://lnkd.in/e3X-Av4J

Our work has real longer-term impact on people's lives, including children and young people. This is the last in our mini-series, where we're looking at the unexpected places where the NAO's work has had a real long-term impact. This time, we're looking at the issue of school reserves in academy trusts. Back in November 2021, our report on financial sustainability in schools found that 22% of academy trusts held reserves equivalent to 20% or more of their annual income in 2019-20. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) had provided extra funding to some academy trusts in financial difficulty to maintain financial stability and protect educational provision. We recommended that the Department for Education (DfE) and the ESFA should develop their understanding of why trusts were building reserves, seek assurance that levels of reserves were acceptable, and act where they had concerns. Last November, DfE published a good practice guide on academy trust reserves. It set out how trusts with reserves should show they have "sufficient plans" in place for the cash reserves "to meet pupils needs". The guidance focused on trusts holding more than 20% of its total income (which was defined in discussion between us and the Public Accounts Committee). In turn, this should help ensure academy trusts spend their funding in line with their pupils' needs. You can find our more about us and our work in our annual report: https://lnkd.in/gdeYS2ye Read our report on school financial sustainability: https://lnkd.in/e4gbNvMd

Congratulations to Joshua Reddaway, James Ball, Rohan Soni, Simon Wakefield and Charlotte Borg from our Work & Pensions teams. The teams have been shortlisted for Outstanding Fraud Prevention, Detection and Recovery in the Public Finance Awards 2024, alongside the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) They developed a ground-breaking way of reporting fraud prevention savings, helping to unlock investment and provide the appropriate focus on reducing the cost of benefit overpayments. https://lnkd.in/dFGBFMKv #pfawards24 #pfshortlist

A programme to prevent fire and flood risks at Buckingham Palace has been well managed to date and demonstrates good practice in several areas. https://lnkd.in/e9UgiMiU The Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme is a 10-year programme that began in April 2017. Its objective is to mitigate the real risk of  operational failure within the Palace, which is the official residence of the Sovereign and host to thousands of visitors each year. The programme budget is £369 million. This is being funded through an uplift to the Sovereign Grant: the money government provides the Royal Household each year to support the official duties of the Sovereign and to maintain the Occupied Royal Palaces. Updates to the Palace’s essential services include replacing heating systems, lifts, lavatories and 3.5 kilometres of electrical cabling. The Royal Household developed a clear business case to secure funding, and chose a governance model reflecting the risks of carrying out improvements at the internationally-renowned Grade I listed building while it was still operational. The overall programme remains within budget. Some individual projects have increased in cost and have taken longer to complete than expected. For example, the East Wing was completed over two years later than planned, and at March 2024 was 78% over its estimated cost. Other projects have come in under budget, such as the Picture Gallery and roof being 25% under its forecast cost. Some of the reasons for cost increases and delays were outside the Household’s control, for example COVID-19, variable inflation, and supply chain difficulties. Other challenges, such as the discovery of more asbestos and structural damage than expected – common in heritage programmes – could have been foreseen. There are risks for the Household to manage as the programme approaches its final stages. More than a quarter (£100m) of the programme’s budget will be received in the last two years, including for works to the North, South and West Wings. Concurrent works increase supply chain and management capacity risks. Furthermore, key staff may leave as the programme comes to an end. We recommend the Household conducts a full evaluation between five and ten years after the programme ends to assess the value delivered, including the benefits for wider society and how the programme can inform similar investments across the Royal Estate. Read our report on the Buckingham Palace Reservicing programme: https://lnkd.in/e9UgiMiU

Our work has real longer-term impact, including on people's homes. This is the second in our mini-series, where we're looking at the unexpected places were the NAO's work has had a real long-term impact. Home energy efficiency schemes, such as the Green Homes Grant, offered homeowners the opportunity to apply for up to £5k funding (£10k for low income households) to install energy efficiency improvements and low carbon heat measures in their homes. Homeowners were expected to identify a certified installer and apply for vouchers. Some homeowners complained that the application process wasn't easy and there were delays in approving and issuing vouchers. In our report on the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme we recommended that, when designing a scheme, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (now the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero) should test from the start what is expected of householders and installers. The aim should be to simplify processes, enabling everyone to complete each stage correctly first time. Following our report the Boiler Upgrade Scheme was launched in April 2022. The department built on the experience of previous schemes and made things simpler for customers and installers to understand. You can find our more about us and our work in our annual report: https://lnkd.in/gdeYS2ye Read our report on the progress made in decarbonising home heating: https://lnkd.in/eZME-tR7