Collections Management In The National Museums And Galleries Of Northern Ireland Third Report Of Session 2006 07 Report Together With Formal Minutes Oral And Written Evidence

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Collections Management in the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland: Third Report of Session 2006-07 Report, Together With Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts
Collections Management in the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland Third Report of Session 2006 07 Report Together With Formal Minutes Oral and Written Evidence Book PDF

Author : Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : Stationery Office/Tso
Page : 12 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2006-12-13
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0215031709

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Collections Management in the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland: Third Report of Session 2006-07 Report, Together With Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

Museums and Galleries Northern Ireland (MAGNI), an agency of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, is responsible for the development, management, care and interpretation of Northern Ireland's national collection of some 1.45 million artefacts and works of art held at four museum sites. Proper management requires maintenance of complete, accurate and up to date records complying with accepted standards. The Committee is disappointed that only items acquired since 1994 have been documented to the national and international standard SPECTRUM, and some 87,000 items have no documentation at all. Despite previous critical reports from the Northern Ireland Audit Office, the response from the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in only computerising 10 per cent of its records is unacceptable. The Committee is also concerned that the Department has not introduced, as a condition of funding, appropriate performance measures. It is deplorable that 60 per cent of the storage space available is either "poor" or "unacceptable", and the Committee welcomes the storage development plan being brought forward. The Committee questions whether MAGNI should retain such an extensive collection, as disposal of artefacts should be an integral part of its collections management.

Tax credits

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Tax credits Book PDF

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 52 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2007-05-09
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0215033825

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Tax credits by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

The current tax credit system was introduced in April 2003 with the aim of helping families with children and working people on low incomes. However it suffers from the highest rate of error and fraud in government. This is the Committee's fourth report on the system. It concludes that the cost in terms of the unforeseen level of overpayments and the scale of error and fraud continues to be significant and beyond the levels Parliament was lead to expect. The Department is now taking steps to reduce the level of overpayment but does not yet have an adequate response for error and fraud.

The management of staff sickness absence in the Department for Transport and its agencies

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
The management of staff sickness absence in the Department for Transport and its agencies Book PDF

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 52 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2007-11-20
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0215037219

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The management of staff sickness absence in the Department for Transport and its agencies by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

The Department of Transport and its seven executive agencies average 10.4 days of sickness for each full-time employee (compared to a Civil Service average of 9.8 days). However the performance is varied. The central Department and four agencies have sickness levels at or below comparable organisations but the Driving Standards Agency and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency have absence rates of 13.1 and 14 day respectively. On the basis of a Comptroller and Auditor General's report the Committee have examined current sickness levels in the Department and actions being taken to meet their 2010 targets. They conclude that the Agencies need a better understanding of why some staff take so much sick leave. Although there appears to be a correlation with low paid repetitive administrative jobs there are also concerns about leadership within the Department. Measures have therefore been taken to strengthen management in areas involving repetitive work.

The modernisation of the West Coast Main Line

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
The modernisation of the West Coast Main Line Book PDF

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 60 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2007-06-14
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780215034489

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The modernisation of the West Coast Main Line by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

When Railtrack first planned the upgrade of the West Coast Mainline it was to have been completed in two phases in 2002 and 2005, used untried signalling technology and cost £2.6 billion. In the event the signalling was not installed, progress was much slower than anticipated and Railtrack collapsed. Network rail took over the project and put in place a more robust strategy to deliver the upgrade in three stages between 2004 and 2008. The first two stages have already been delivered on schedule. However the total modernisation cost is likely to be around £8.6 billion and the line will still be prone to overcrowding at peak times and is thus likely to need further investment. This report looks at the project on the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The right of access to open countryside

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
The right of access to open countryside Book PDF

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 52 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2007-06-21
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780215034571

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The right of access to open countryside by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

The Countryside Rights of Way Act 2000 introduced a public right to walk across designated mountain, moor, heath, downs and registered common land in England. DEFRA tasked the Countryside Agency with opening-up the new access by the end of 2005, and the target was met with two months to spare. However the implementation of the right to roam cost the Countryside Agency £24.6 million more than anticipated, with knock-on impacts on other programmes. This report looks at the implementation of open access and the effect of the policy under the headings: encouraging the public to use the right to roam across the countryside; protecting the environment of access land and the rights of landowners; improving planning and project management. However the success of legislation is as yet unknown because there is no information on the extent to which the public are making use of their new right. In October 2006 the responsibility for open access passed from the Countryside Agency to Natural England.

HM Revenue and Customs

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
HM Revenue and Customs Book PDF

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 52 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2007-06-12
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780215034373

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HM Revenue and Customs by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

In January 2004, the Inland Revenue entered into a contract with Capgemini to provide IT services to support the Department's business. The contract, known as ASPIRE (Acquiring Strategic Partners for the Inland Revenue), replaced two previous contracts with EDS and Accenture and, following the merger of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs & Excise in 2005, the latter's IT services contract with Fujitsu was incorporated within ASPIRE in April 2006. This change from one supplier to another was the first of this scale in the public sector, and the contract provides wider lessons for the public sector in re-competing major contracts, particularly relating to the payment of transition costs. The cost of the contract has risen from £2.83 billion to £8.5 billion over the 10 year term. Following on from a NAO report on this topic (HCP 938, session 2005-06; ISBN 9780102939170) published in July 2006, the Committee's report examines the procurement process, the transition to a new supplier and the performance of the ASPIRE contract to date. Findings include: i) before concluding the deal, the Department should have evaluated bids against a range of demands for IT services and analysed the effect of different scenarios on suppliers' prices and profit margins; ii) it should have evaluated the performance of consultants and the lessons to be learned from their use, not only for their own benefit but for that of other departments; iii) by contributing to bid costs and paying transition costs to secure competition for the contract, the Department incurred a premium of £51.9 million; iv) it should set more challenging performance targets to impose sufficient discipline on suppliers; and v) the Government should not be placed in the invidious position of having to commission further work from a contractor in order to recover compensation for underperformance.

H.M. Treasury

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
H M Treasury Book PDF

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 44 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2007-11-27
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0215037359

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H.M. Treasury by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

Under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) there are now 800 contracts with private sector suppliers for services worth in total £155 billion up to 2032. To achieve value for money, all stages of a project have to be managed effectively, including in the tendering process. The Committee, in a 2003 report highlighted a number of issues regarding the PFI tendering process (HCP 764, session 2002-03, ISBN 9780215011244). This report re-examines the tendering and benchmarking in PFI, finding that the Treasury had done little to apply what it had learned from the large number of PFI deals signed; that there has been no improvement in tendering times and significant risks to value for money continue to be taken when public authorities make late changes to deals. The Committee has set out 7 conclusions and recommendations, including: that since 2004, the proportion of deals attracting only two bidders has more than doubled with the risk of no competition; one third of public sector teams made changes to PFI projects after they had selected a single, preferred bidder; benchmarking and market testing have increased prices by up to 14%; public authorities have found it difficult to find appropriate data to benchmark PFI service costs; there is evidence that public authorities, faced with price increases have had to cut back services in hospitals, including portering, to keep contracts affordable; that there is a continuing lack of PFI experience and skills within public procurement teams.

Assessing the value for money of OGCbuying.solutions

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Assessing the value for money of OGCbuying solutions Book PDF

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 40 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2007-06-26
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780215034786

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Assessing the value for money of OGCbuying.solutions by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

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.

Financial management in the NHS

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Financial management in the NHS Book PDF

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 62 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2007-03-20
Category : Medical
ISBN : 021503306X

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Financial management in the NHS by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

Spending on the NHS is the fastest growing area of public expenditure, with a budget for 2004-05 of £69.7 billion, rising to £76.4 billion in 2005-06 and £92.6 billion in 2007-08. Despite the increased resources, the NHS reported an overall deficit of £251 million (including Foundation Trusts) in 2004-05, the first time since 1999-2000 that the NHS as a whole had overspent. In 2005-06, the overall deficit increased to £570 million, with a rise in both the number of NHS organisations (Strategic Health Authorities, Primary Care Trusts, NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts) reporting a deficit and the proportion of those bodies reporting a deficit. Following on from a report (HC 1059-I, session 2005-06; ISBN 9780102938159) published in June 2006, jointly prepared by the National Audit Office and the Audit Commission, the Committee's report examines three main issues: the factors that led to the deficits, the impact on the organisations involved, and the steps taken to recover the deficits. Amongst its findings, the Committee concludes that there are a number of reasons why NHS bodies are in deficit, with most organisations in deficit tending to have had a deficit the previous year. Bodies already in deficit looking to turn their financial position around can be disadvantaged as they are expected to recover that deficit in the next financial period. The NHS has been under significant financial pressure to meet the costs of national pay initiatives which the Department of Health had not fully costed, and as some NHS bodies have coped better than others in managing these cost pressures, this indicates that the standard of financial management expertise varies across the NHS, as does the level of clinical engagement in financial matters.

Department of Health

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Department of Health Book PDF

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 48 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2007-06-07
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9780215034304

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Department of Health by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

Properly managed, the use of temporary nurses can play an important role in helping hospital achieve flexibility. However their high use can have a detrimental impact on patient care and satisfaction. In 2001 the Department of Health anticipated that a growth in the NHS workforce would lead to a decline in the use of temporary staff but in spite of this intention temporary nurses still account for the same percentage of the nursing budget (around 9%). On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Committee has investigated the extent of the use of temporary nurses; whether the process is properly planned and managed; and whether there are safety and quality implications. One of the conclusions is that there has a lack of planning and it is only as a result of the problem with deficits that the NHS has taken a more co-ordinated approach

Ofwat

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Ofwat Book PDF

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 48 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2007-05-10
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0215033930

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Ofwat by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) is the economic regulator of water services in England and Wales, with responsibility for setting price limits that allow the 22 main water companies to secure sustainable supplies at the lowest cost to the consumer. Following on from a NAO report (HCP 150, session 2006-07; ISBN 9780102944181) published in January 2007, the Committee's report finds that Ofwat needs to make changes to its regulatory system, in particular on water efficiency, data quality, and enforcement, given the increasing challenges to water supplies due to low rainfall and predictions of housing growth. Ofwat does not understand clearly how consumers use water and has not collected enough robust evidence on which water efficiency projects are most effective in helping consumers to use less water. Despite some progress, Ofwat still depends on unreliable data with regard to both supply and demand, and also needs much better data on per capita consumption. It has had some success in encouraging sustainable investment by companies, but needs to be more active in using sanctions against companies that under-perform against their commitments to meet all reasonable demands for water, while limiting environmental impacts. Ofwat should press companies to encourage more consumers to use meters by, for example, promoting the benefits of metering to consumers as well as routinely installing meters when there is a change of building occupancy.

Estimating and monitoring the costs of building roads in England

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Estimating and monitoring the costs of building roads in England Book PDF

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 52 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2007-11-08
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0215037081

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Estimating and monitoring the costs of building roads in England by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

The Department for Transport has approved expenditure of over £11 billion between 1998 and 2021 for the development of new and existing trunk roads and motorways by the Highways Agency, and just under £1.7 billion on major road schemes proposed and developed by local authorities in five year Local Transport Plans. Following on from a NAO report on this topic (HCP 321, session 2006-07; ISBN 9780102944600) published in March 2007, the Committee's report examines the steps taken by the Department for Transport and the Highways Agency to improve value for money and oversight of the roads programme and contracting methods and project management capability. By September 2006, the Agency's 36 completed schemes in the Targeted Programme of Improvement cost 40 per cent more than estimated initially, and for schemes still to be completed, latest forecasts indicate that final costs could be 27 per cent more than original estimates. The main causes for costs exceeding estimates are increases in construction costs, higher than forecast land prices and compensation to landowners, inflation and changes in the scope of the project. The report finds that the DfT has not been rigorous enough in its oversight of the Agency's delivery of major road schemes, allowing it too much latitude on delivery and cost plans, and has failed to monitor in-year expenditure against progress and delivery milestones. The Agency is overly reliant on consultants for project management expertise and needs to develop its in-house capability.

Assets Recovery Agency

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Assets Recovery Agency Book PDF

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 60 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2007-10-12
Category : Law
ISBN : 0215036336

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Assets Recovery Agency by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

The Assets Recovery Agency (the Agency) was set up in 2003 to recover assets from criminals using new and unique powers of civil recovery as well as criminal confiscation and taxation. It was also tasked with the training, accreditation and monitoring of financial investigators. The Agency is to be disbanded in 2008. It was set up with insufficient preparatory work. There was no business case setting out the expectations for the Agency, resulting in unachievable delivery aims. It is reliant on cases being referred to it by other authorities, but only 707 cases have been referred from 129 out of 696 potential referral partners. The Agency did not develop effective work processes: it failed to keep a comprehensive database of cases referred to it; it did not invest in a time-recording system to manage and monitor staff time and the cost of cases; and it failed to put in place processes to enable management to monitor the progression of cases effectively. Receivers' fees accounted for almost a quarter of the budget but fixed price contracts were not introduced until April 2006. The Agency's office is in central London, heavily reliant on temporary staff, and with high levels of staff turnover. The Agency had recovered assets amounting to only £23 million by December 2006 against expenditure of £65 million, and it has not met its target of becoming self-financing by 2005-06. Asset recovery has been slow because in most cases the full value of the assets was pursued through the courts rather than seeking settlement for a proportion of the assets. The Agency has not been adequately monitoring the accreditation of trained financial investigators. Of the 4,500 financial investigators trained at almost £700 per place, only 1,400 of those were active in the role by summer 2006.

Managing the defence estate

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Managing the defence estate Book PDF

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 40 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2007-11-29
Category : History
ISBN : 0215037472

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Managing the defence estate by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has an extensive and complex estate of some 24,000 hectares, and after the Forestry Commission, is the second largest landowner in the UK. The estate is valued at over £18 billion and costs some £3.3 billion to operate. The estate is seen as essential to the delivery of military capability and the welfare and morale of Service personnel. This report, from the Committee of Public Accounts, has taken evidence from the MoD on the standard of living accommodation, the Department's ability to prioritise estate projects effectively, and its response to staff shortages. It follows on from an NAO report (HCP 154, session 2006-7), Managing the Defence Estate: Quality and Sustainability (ISBN 9780102944679). It sets out 9 recommendations, including: more than half of single living accommodation and over 40% of family accommodation does not meet the Department's definition of high-quality accommodation and is therefore substandard; that poor accommodation has a negative impact on retention rates; there is no information on when poor accommodation is to be upgraded, with some military personnel and their families having to continue to live in substandard housing for the next 20 years; there are gaps in the Department's understanding of estate costs; the Department employs only 56% of safety works staff and 57% of quantity surveyors that it needs; that implementing energy saving measures at its' defence sites would bring environmental benefits and savings of more than £2 million annually.

Child Support Agency

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Child Support Agency Book PDF

Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 52 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2007-07-05
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780215034878

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Child Support Agency by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts Pdf

Since it was established in 1993, the Child Support Agency has consistently underperformed, plagued by enormous backlogs of unprocessed cases and uncollected maintenance. Where it works well, the Agency has secured regular contributions from non-resident parents and helped lift an estimated 100,000 children out of poverty. It has to administer complex assessment, collection and enforcement processes and deal with complicated emotional, financial and legal issues to bring about a degree of financial stability for children and parents. Following on from a NAO report (HCP 1174, session 2005-06; ISBN 9780102938692) published in June 2006, the Committee's report examines the implementation of child support reforms, focusing on why the problems in implementing the reforms arose, the impact on the quality of service, the remedial action taken by the Child Support Agency and the lessons learnt. The report finds that implementing the reforms has cost the taxpayer £539 million since 2000, with plans for a further £320 million to improve service levels over the next three years; but the money has failed to deliver improvements in efficiency and quality of service. The Agency still performs less effectively than its counterparts in Australia and New Zealand, with higher average costs per case and lower rates of compliance. The Government published its White Paper (Cm. 6979, ISBN 9780101697927) in December 2006, drawing on the recommendations made by Sir David Henshaw in his report "Recovering child support: routes to responsibility" (Cm. 6984, ISBN 9780101689427). Amongst the reforms announced, the Government will replace the Child Support Agency (CSA) with a new organisation, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (C-MEC) by 2008.