First Report of Session 2012-13, Report, Together with Formal Minutes
This report discusses the impact of the Committee work in the 2010-12 Session of Parliament. Prepared as a Traffic Light Report, the first of its kind, it scores Government responses to each of the Committee's recommendations as green, red or yellow, to indicate whether, in the Committee's view, they have been accepted by the Government, rejected, or are still under consideration or development. It is intended as a benchmark and tool for developing a more strategic approach to scrutiny, which will improve the Committee's ability to hold the Home Office to account. Going forward, it will be used as the basis for the systematic follow-up of recommendations over the rest of the Parliament.
We recommend that the Home Office either carries out this research itself, or
commissions another body, such as Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary,
to carry it out, to assess whether large-scale collaboration with the private sector
offers forces the scope to make savings, whilst maintaining or enhancing
operational effectiveness. The picture is far from clear at present. This is an
emerging area and some research about the benefits and disadvantages would
be helpful to forces ...
This report examines the Government's plans for a real terms increase of 37% in official aid spending in the four years to 2015. The report does not address humanitarian aid for relief of acute distress following conflict, famine, natural disasters or other emergencies, which is less than 10% of official aid spending. This inquiry has shown that finding ways to realise the simple ambition of reducing poverty by means of development aid is hugely challenging. Economic growth is essential if poverty is to be reduced. There is however no agreement amongst experts as to the effectiveness of development aid in promoting growth. There is far from universal agreement amongst experts as to what the aim of aid should be or forms of aid are the most effective. There is also disagreement as to what is the best way to channel aid and whether aid should focus on those countries where poverty is most acute - often where without better governance, aid will prove a waste of time or worse. Yet further, there is disagreement as to whether aid is a tool enabling donor countries to combat corruption and bring about internal peace, or whether it tends to feed corruption and sustain damaging internal conflicts. Expert opinion is however virtually united in agreement that DFID enjoys an outstanding reputation internationally as an effective aid agent. The Committee makes recommendations designed to improve DFID's performance further. In particular it is feared that, sometimes, it is pursuing various good objectives that are likely to prove mutually incompatible
... budget on grounds of commercial confidentiality, though the Secretary of State
subsequently wrote to us admitting the figures could be derived from published
documentation. In oral evidence, the ICAI failed to convince the committee that it
was appropriately resourced for the work with which it was charged and that it
could be relied on adequately to fulfil its role. These are early days for ICAI, but
we recommend that both Parliament and DFID monitor ICAI'S own effectiveness
closely, ...
The Charity Commission is not regulating charities effectively and there is a gap between what the public expects of the Commission and what it actually does. The NAO has concluded that the Commission does not do enough to identify and tackle abuse of charitable status. Between 2007-08 and 2013-14, the Commission's annual budget fell 40 per cent in real terms to £22.7 million but the number of main registered charities has remained fairly constant at around 160,000. In response to budget cuts, the Commission has reviewed how it works and successfully reduced demand for its services, but it has not identified what budget it would need to regulate effectively. The Commission makes little use of its enforcement powers, for example suspending only two trustees and removing none in 2012-13. And it can be slow to act when investigating regulatory concerns. The NAO found cases where periods of several months passed during which the Commission took no action. Furthermore, the Charity Commission does not take tough enough action in some of the most serious regulatory cases. It is also reactive rather than proactive, making insufficient use of the information it holds to identify risk. The Charity Commission needs to think radically about alternative ways of meeting its objectives with constrained resources. It also needs to make greater use of its statutory powers in line with its objective of maintaining confidence in the sector; and develop an approach to identify and deal with those few trustees who deliberately abuse charitable status. This report publishes alongside another NAO report, the Cup Trust.
... collaborate on risk profiling charities. The Cabinet Office should: h prioritise its
planned work to help the Commission focus on its core regulatory functions by
removing or reducing those activities that add little regulatory value, and assist
the Commission in securing legislative changes to address gaps and
deficiencies in the Commission's powers. Part One The Commission's use Of its
resources Charity regulation The regulatory effectiveness of the Charity
Commission Summary 11.
House of Lords Papers 2003-04,183 /House of Commons Papers 2003-04,1188
The Joint Committee on Human Rights examined the implementation of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the UK. Domestic legislation protects many of the economic, social and cultural rights, with the Covenant itself having little impact in UK domestic law. The Committee believes that there is scope for incorporating further protection of rights in the UK, by enshrining some of the guarantees contained in the Covenant. Further, that for the Covenant rights to be effective, they should be part of a framework for government policy development, and that Government along with the Commission for Equality and Human Rights should develop ways of measuring the progress of these rights. The Committee also recommends, that explanatory notes to Bills, should include discussion of the Bills compatibility with Covenant rights, which is a way of enhancing the scrutiny of proposed Government legislation. Furthermore, the Committee recommends the introduction of an Equality Bill, to address the concerns of discrimination faced by ethnic minorities and persons with disabilities in employment, housing and education.
8 Workplace rights The national minimum wage 129. Article 7 ICESCR
guarantees the right to just and favourable conditions of work, and Article 7(a)(ii)
in particular guarantees the right of workers to “a decent living for themselves and
their ...
Forty-Second Report of Session 2010-12; Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence
This report examines the effectiveness and efficiency of the current education system for 16- to 18-year-olds. In 2009, over 1.6 million 16- to 18-year-olds participated in some form of education and training at a cost of over £6 billion. Most studied full-time for qualifications such as A levels or National Vocational Qualifications, at a general further education college, sixth form college or school sixth form. The system governing the education of 16- to 18-year-olds is devolved and complex. The Department for Education (the Department) has overall responsibility, and the Young People's Learning Agency funds education providers and monitors their performance. Local authorities have a duty to secure provision but they have limited powers, and having duties without powers cannot work effectively. There has been an overall improvement in the achievements of 16- to 18-year-olds over the last four years. Students in larger providers have generally achieved better results. Smaller providers, by collaborating, can achieve some of the benefits of size. In a market, consistently poor providers should fail because they lose funding as students choose to study elsewhere. For the 16 to 18 education market to work effectively, there needs to be consistent and relevant information so the Department can assess value for money and students can make informed judgements about their courses and what they lead to. Also, where a provider's performance is poor, there must be clarity about the criteria for intervention, and the timing and extent of intervention. Neither is fully in place at present.
It should require all providers to compile and publish comparable performance
information to support the assessment of value for money. The information should
be sufficient for prospective students to use in choosing the right course, thereby
...
Incorporating HC 359-i and 494-i of session 2009-10. This report draws on the work of the Committee and the National Audit Office since 2003 in examining the BBC's approach to financial matters
Increases in expenditure on education for 16- to 18-year-olds, which now stands at £6 billion per year, have been matched by improvements in students' achievements and increasing participation of 16- to 18-year-olds in education. Nevertheless, the National Audit Office cannot conclude that value for money is being delivered across the system because of variation in the arrangements for accountability, performance monitoring and intervention where poor performance exists. Students achieve, on average, better academic progress and results in institutions educating large numbers of 16- to 18-year-olds, whether colleges or school sixth forms. Sixth-form colleges perform best on most measures of student achievement, despite currently receiving £280 per student less funding than school sixth forms. The Department for Education has taken steps to reduce inconsistency in how different provider types are funded and has committed to bringing the funding levels for school sixth forms into line with colleges by 2015. Although there are clear arrangements for dealing with poor performance in colleges, there is no consistent approach to dealing with poor performance in school sixth forms. In addition, the inspection frameworks and performance and financial reporting requirements for the various types of provider are not consistent. Many schools and colleges have improved their management of back-office costs through good practice in procurement. However, direct costs including teaching staff account for over 60 per cent of a provider's costs and some providers have a poor understanding of how to manage these costs
In this report, we have used funding as a proxy for expenditure in measuring
value for money achieved. 15 There are clear arrangements for dealing with poor
performance in colleges. Failure to achieve minimum levels of performance ...
By October 2009, the Ministry of Defence had reported new savings of £944 million. The NAO examined £712 million, some 75 per cent of the savings reported. It rated 42 per cent (£298 million) as sustainable savings (green), 45 per cent (£318 million) as savings but with some uncertainty (amber) and 14 per cent (£96 million) as overstated (red). This report accompanies the broader NAO progress report on VFM savings (HC 291, 9780102965391)
Summary lntroduction 1 The Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 (CSR07)
Value for Money (VFM) Savings Programme, covering 2008-09 to 2010-11,
builds on previous programmes designed to improve the efficiency and
effectiveness of ...
thirty-third report of session 2006-07 : report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence
OGCbuying.solutions is an executive agency of the Office of Government Commerce and a trading fund. It was established in April 2001 to maximise the value for money obtained by government departments and other public bodies through the procurement and supply of goods and services. Its operations focus on three areas: framework agreements, managed services and memoranda of undertaking. The agency reported value for money savings of £412 million in 2005-06, an increase of 71 per cent since 2003-04. Following on from a NAO report (HCP 103, session 2006-07 (ISBN 9780102944037) published in December 2006, the Committee's report focuses on three main issues: creating a 'fit for purpose' organisation; increasing market share through smarter engagement with customers; and the role of OGCbuying.solutions in transforming government procurement.
In the last three years OGCbuying.solutions has exceeded its value for money
savings target by £32 million in 2003-04, £21 million in 2004-05 and £12 million
in 2005-06.2 It has, however, potential to increase significantly its annual savings
...
OGCbuying.solutions is an executive agency of the Office of Government Commerce and a trading fund. It was established in April 2001 to maximise the value for money obtained by government departments and other public bodies through the procurement and supply of goods and services. Its operations focus on three areas: framework agreements, managed services and memoranda of undertaking. The agency reported value for money savings of £412 million in 2005-06, an increase of 71 per cent since 2003-04. Whilst these savings are judged to be significant, this NAO report identifies considerable potential to achieve further value for money savings and makes six recommendations to help OGCbuying.solutions further improve its performance. The NAO report estimates that these changes, combined with a more co-ordinated public sector procurement landscape, could achieve a potential £520 million to £660 million in further savings.
Whilst operating within this landscape, OGCbuying.solutions reported value for money savings of £412 million in 2005-06, an increase of 71 per cent since 2003
-04.1 These savings have been achieved in a number of ways: I the majority of ...
