@nao.org.uk
We're the NAO, the UK's independent public spending watchdog. We help Parliament hold government to account. Stay updated with our latest work here. https://linktr.ee/nationalauditoffice
We recently announced upcoming reports on:
• Government exits and redundancies
• New Hospital Programme update
• Financial resilience of DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries
• Government’s understanding of its service costs
• Update on government shared services
➡️ www.nao.org.uk/work-in-prog...
We've published our annual Transparency Report on our audit quality. It provides an overview on:
• our governance and accountability arrangements
• how we safeguard our independence
• the quality of the audit work we do
Read it here ⬇️
www.nao.org.uk/corporate-in...
Our Diversity & Inclusion Annual Report outlines the progress we have made and where we will focus our efforts.
Our gender pay gap reduced from 8.3% in 2021 to 1.7% in 2024. We are on course to eliminate it by 2027.
Read our D&I Annual Report ⬇️
www.nao.org.uk/corporate-in...
2024-25 Financial Audits • HM Treasury • Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) • Department for Transport • Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office • Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government National Audit Office
We recently published 2024-25 audit certificates for:
• HM Treasury
• DVLA
• Department for Transport
• Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
• Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
Find all our financial audits on our website: www.nao.org.uk/report_types...
We recently announced upcoming reports on:
• Resilience to severe space weather
• Sizewell C
• Afghanistan resettlement schemes
• Tackling harm from drug use in prisons
Find out more ⤵️
www.nao.org.uk/work-in-prog...
We recently reported that water regulators - including Ofwat - have failed to manage the rising tide of risk associated with the sector, which is facing significant environmental, supply and infrastructure challenges.
Read our report 🚰⬇️
www.nao.org.uk/reports/regu...
2024-25 Financial Audits BBC Group Accounts Television Licence Fee Trust Statement HMRC: Resource Accounts - Qualified Department for Education Whole of Government Accounts 2023-24 - Disclaimed Home Office
We recently published 2024-25 audit certificates for:
• BBC Group Accounts
• Television Licence Fee Trust Statement
• HMRC: Resource Accounts - Qualified
• Department for Education
• Whole of Government Accounts 2023-24 - Disclaimed
• Home Office
More: #[www.nao.org.uk/our-work/fin...
We recently announced upcoming reports on:
• Unlocking land for housing: www.nao.org.uk/work-in-prog...
• Delays to driving tests: www.nao.org.uk/work-in-prog...
Find out more here ⤵️
www.nao.org.uk/work-in-prog...
“It’s essential that the Government’s reforms to the local government audit system in England are effective in restoring timely and robust assurance in that sector so that the accuracy of the UK’s Whole of Government Accounts can be properly assured. Even more importantly, local taxpayers in England deserve timely audited accounts from their local council.” Gareth Davies, Comptroller & Auditor General, National Audit Office
The Comptroller & Auditor General has disclaimed the Whole of Government Accounts for 2023-24.
This is due to a lack of audited accounts for English local authorities, with only 4% of these bodies producing audited accounts.
Read the C&AG's opinion here: www.nao.org.uk/reports/whol...
It's not enough to just own F-35 fighter jets - the Ministry of Defence needs to make sure they're ready and available to fly.
Tom McDonald spoke to Times Radio about what the MoD needs to do to improve the UK's F-35 programme.
Read our report: www.nao.org.uk/reports/the-...
2024-25 Financial Audits Department for Work and Pensions (Qualified) Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
We recently published our 2023/24 audit certificates for:
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - qualified
• Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT)
You can find all of our published financial audits on our website: www.nao.org.uk/report_types...
We recently announced an upcoming analysis of the asylum system.
Find out more here ⤵️
www.nao.org.uk/work-in-prog...
F-35 fighter jet availability is far below Ministry of Defence targets and there are major personnel gaps, undermining the UK's warfighting capability.
The NAO has forecast that the F-35 programme will cost £71bn, almost 4x the MoD's initial estimates.
Our report: www.nao.org.uk/reports/the-...
1. Providing cross-government leadership to fulfil the potential of data analytics in tackling fraud and error. 2. Scaling and replicating projects to focus on fraud prevention.
3. Making the investment case for data analytics. 4. Making the most of central counter-fraud initiatives, such as the National Fraud Initiative. 5. Building controls into existing process and new projects.
6. Managing the key datasets for tackling fraud and error. 7.. Managing the data-sharing process so public bodies can access the data they need.
8. Putting in place the right skills by developing multi-disciplinary teams. 9. Optimising the staffing and algorithms to maximise the return. 10. Maintaining public trust while harnessing new capabilities.
Using data analytics to tackle fraud and error could save the government billions of pounds.
Our latest report identifies 10 challenges for the government to address when using data analytics to gain more fraud and error savings.
Read the report here: www.nao.org.uk/reports/usin...
The College of Policing financial statements for 2023-24 have been disclaimed
The Comptroller &Auditor General has disclaimed his opinion on the College of Policing 2023-24 financial statements.
The College failed to properly manage a transition to new accounting systems, so he couldn't obtain sufficient evidence to form an opinion.
assets.college.police.uk/s3fs-public/...
"Too many children are caught in uncertainty."
Our recent report on family justice found that while government is working hard to reduce delays in family courts, thousands of children are waiting too long.
Read Jenny George in @publicsectorfocus.bsky.social: flickread.com/edition/html...
£53 for every £1 spent. That's the impact our work had for the taxpayer in 2024.
87% of MPs said we are effective at supporting Parliament to hold government to account and scrutinise public services.
93% of our recommendations were accepted or partially accepted by Government.
73% of senior officials in the bodies we audit think our work leads to better outcomes.
£53 for every £1 spent. That's the impact our work had for the taxpayer in 2024.
Read our latest annual report and accounts: www.nao.org.uk/corporate-in...
We've published our @nao.org.uk report on the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, including this excellent visual summary by our Design Team.
While the government smoothly transitioned to the UK ETS after Brexit, its incentives for future decarbonisation are uncertain
www.nao.org.uk/reports/uk-e...
How the UK Emissions Trading Scheme incentivises decarbonisation Scheme participants and other market traders can trade allowances with each other on a secondary market. Participants that can reduce emissions can sell allowances to participants with emissions in excess of their allowances. The value of allowances on the market sets a carbon price - £37 the Scheme's average carbon price in 2024. Over time, participants are incentivised to reduce emissions by investing in new low-carbon technology as this becomes preferable to paying the carbon price for emitting carbon. 11 million tonnes: total reduction in emissions in the three sectors covered by the Scheme, 2021 to 2023. IMAGES: in the centre of the page. A single ticket saying 'one allowance', with four factories surrounding it. There are double headed arrows between each factory. Next to this image are two wind turbines atop a hill.
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme plays an important part in helping the UK meet its net zero ambitions. But the UK's low price for carbon allowances, and a lack of investment opportunities for low-carbon tech could undermine the Scheme.
Our report: www.nao.org.uk/reports/uk-e...
Local buses are the most used form of public transport in England and essential for millions of people
But bus services have not recovered to pre-Covid levels, which were already in decline, even after action from DfT.
Read our report: www.nao.org.uk/reports/loca...
youtu.be/Id19VWa-jgQ
Such an important message for public sector leaders
26.06.2025 09:23 — 👍 2 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0“It's fine when you're swinging big to have a few misses in a controlled environment”.
Jonny Mood appeared on the Freewheeling podcast to discuss why the public sector shouldn't be afraid to fail - as long as it's willing to learn from failures.
Listen here ⤵️
What government should consider when setting new requirements to make compliance more meaningful for small government bodies Understand the costs of implementing requirements for small bodies Consider whether the benefits of new requirements outweigh the costs, especially for small and low-risk organisations Tailor requirements to organisations of different sizes where this results in a better cost-benefit trade-off Clearly communicate the rationale for new requirements Consider whether new requirements can replace or streamline existing requirements
Government can release resources and improve accountability by tailoring governance and reporting requirements for small public bodies.
We have recommendations to ensure that requirements are meaningful and proportionate ⤵️
Our report: www.nao.org.uk/reports/acco...
Private finance for public service is back. How do we learn the lessons of past issues here? We produced an @nao.org.uk report drawing together lessons from 140 NAO reports
on.ft.com/446gixl
£340 million shortfall in recovering fees & costs of key government services in 2023-24 Six public bodies reviewed by the National Audit Office that aim for full cost recovery IMAGE: Hands hold open a document while a pen hovers over the page
Six key government services that aim for full cost recovery, like filing new companies and issuing passports, consistently do not fully recover their costs. This led to a shortfall of £340 million in 2023-24.
Read our report for more: www.nao.org.uk/reports/fina...
National Audit Office lessons and insights for government on improving operational capability Our work identifies 20 lessons and insights to improve operational delivery Capability A Taking a whole-system approach B Understanding and dealing with demand Using information to improve Lessons • Good services require all organisations and people connected with the system to build and maintain a shared understanding of the outcomes they are trying to achieve. You need the people and organisations involved in policy formulation through to operational delivery to be open about these outcomes and any competing priorities. • Service users expect organisations to work together effectively to provide good services. You need to be clear about what success is and whether you are getting there. • Users expect to access services at a time that suits them, and receive a good service. You need to know if your services can adapt to changes in the level of demand and still meet those expectations. • What matters to service users should inform the way you work. You need to apply the principles of good service design and provide the right support to make it easier for people to use the service. • Service users expect a seamless right first-time experience. You should understand how demand flows through the steps of the process and where there are pinch-points and dependencies. • Everyone using the service is unique and may not have the same needs. You need to know if your ways of working and processes are flexible enough to accommodate that variation in user needs. • Make it easy for users to give you the quality of information you need to provide a good service for them. This will allow you to complete work faster and right first time. • Service users expect good services, and good services require capable people. The people providing the service must have the skills and tools they need to do their jobs. • Service users judge performance based on what matters to them. You need measures…
Govt will spend around £450bn on running public services this year. Great new @nao.org.uk report on how government can improve operational delivery, drawing on our unique position seeing across government. Insights could be useful in civil society organisations as well
www.nao.org.uk/insights/sma...
Oliver Lodge spoke on the most recent edition of
BBC Radio 4's More Or Less. The show looked at claims concerning the £4.7 billion spent on asylum seekers in 2023-24.
Listen to what he said here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Take a whole system approach Deal with complexity and uncertainty by understanding how different parts of the system connect and achieve outcomes for service users .
Understand and deal with demand Design and run services in a way that provides people with what they want, when they want it, and get it right the first time.
Use information to improve Work to understand how services are performing, and use that information to decide what to change, why, and how.
Have a systemic approach to innovation and improvement Know where problems happen and if there are opportunities to improve.
We've drawn on a range of case studies from the DVLA, HMRC, Home Office and more, to understand how departments are innovating, adapting, and improving the way public services are delivered.
Read our latest report on smarter operational delivery here: www.nao.org.uk/insights/sma...
"I am profoundly grateful for this recognition and look forward to building upon our successful work supporting government's agenda on change and modernisation." Yvonne Gallagher MBE, Director of Digital Insights
Congratulations to our Director of Digital Insights, Yvonne Gallagher, who was awarded an MBE for services to digital transformation in government.
Her work influenced the 2022-25 roadmap for digital & data, and she has championed digital professionals globally.
A man holds his head in his hands as he speaks on the phone. TEXT: 43% more complaints raised with MyCSP in 2024/25 compared to 2016/17.
With a rise in complaints about the civil service pension scheme in recent years, many of the 1.7 million members struggle to get through to the customer contact centre. Cabinet Office must improve members' experience in the future.
Read our report for more: www.nao.org.uk/reports/inve...
