Standard report on the accounts of HM Revenue and Customs
Standard report on the accounts of HM Revenue and Customs

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2007-07-26

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 9780215035387

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VAT missing trader fraud is a large-scale criminal attack on the EU VAT system, which costs the UK exchequer approximately £1 billion a year. Although the Department has been trying to tackle this fraud for six years, they still have not stemmed the flow of tax losses. Recently they obtained authority to introduce the special measure of "reverse charge" for mobile phones and computer chips but this can only be a provisional solution. The problem can only be tackled at EU level and ultimately the European Union will have to agree a new legislative framework for administering VAT.

Recovery of Debt by the Inland Revenue,Forty-Ninth Report of Session 2003-04,Report,Together with Formal Minutes,Oral and Written Evidence
Recovery of Debt by the Inland Revenue,Forty-Ninth Report of Session 2003-04,Report,Together with Formal Minutes,Oral and Written Evidence

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 52

ISBN-13: 9780215020352

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The Inland Revenue collects over £200 billion a year in tax and National Insurance contributions from 30 million taxpayers, ranging from individuals to multinational corporations. The total amount of debt from unpaid taxes stood at £12 billion at the end of March 2004, of which £3 billion was more than a year old. Following on from a NAO report (HCP 363, session 2003-04; ISBN 0102927596) published in March 2004, the Committee has examined the progress made by the Inland Revenue to speed up debt recovery, whether more can be done to encourage prompt payment and the application of good practice in debt management. Findings include that the Department should impose a surcharge on persistent late payers; use other government departmental records to find taxpayers it cannot trace; seek additional powers for enforcing debts similar to those of other tax authorities; and include debt management data in its performance measures.

Treasury minutes on the twenty seventh to the thirty fourth, the thirty sixth to the fortieth, and the forty third to the forty fifth reports from the Committee of Public Accounts 2006-2007
Treasury minutes on the twenty seventh to the thirty fourth, the thirty sixth to the fortieth, and the forty third to the forty fifth reports from the Committee of Public Accounts 2006-2007

Author: Great Britain. Treasury

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2007-10-11

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13: 9780101721622

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Committee of Public Accounts treasury minutes are on the following reports: HCP 113, 06/07, 27th report (ISBN 9780215034311); HCP 179, 06/07, 28th report (ISBN 9780215034373); HCP 142, 06/07, 29th report (ISBN 9780215034304); HCP 189, 06/07, 30th report (ISBN 9780215034489); HCP 309, 06/07, 31st report (ISBN 9780215034496); HCP 91, 06/07, 32nd report (ISBN 9780215034571); HCP 275, 06/07 33rd report (ISBN 9780215034786); HCP 43, 06/07, 34th report (ISBN 9780215034830); HCP 729, 06/07, 36th report (ISBN 9780215034823); HCP 812, 06/07, 37th report (ISBN 9780215034878); HCP 261, 06/07, 38th report (ISBN 9780215034991); HCP 377, 06/07, 39th report (ISBN 9780215034922); HCP 368, 06/07, 40th report (ISBN 9780215035066); HCP 892, 06/07, 43rd report (ISBN 9780215035172); HCP 246, 06/07, 44th report (ISBN 9780215035271); HCP 250, 06/07, 45th report (ISBN 9780215035387)

The efficiency programme
The efficiency programme

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2007-10-11

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 9780215036247

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The Government's Efficiency Programme is designed to achieve ongoing efficiency gains across the public sector of £21.5 billion a year by 2007-08 to improve front line services, to reduce Civil Service posts by more than 70,000 and to reallocate a further 13,500 posts to front line services.Departments are responsible for delivering and quantifying the efficiencies achieved while the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) checks the robustness of figures put forward and provides support to help departments deliver their gains. On 26 February the Committee took evidence on the £13.3 billion of annual efficiency gains departments had reported up to 30 September 2006. While some of these reported gains are robust, almost £10 billion of reported efficiency gains remain uncertain. On the basis of a Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General,evidence was taken from OGC and the Treasury on four main issues: the measurement of efficiency gains and headcount reductions; the effects of efficiency projects on service quality; the management of the Programme; and embedding a culture of efficiency into the public sector.

Reducing Brain Damage
Reducing Brain Damage

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2006-07-11

Total Pages: 52

ISBN-13: 9780215029683

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Strokes are one of the top three causes of death in England and a leading cause of adult disability. There are 110,000 strokes each year in England, with a quarter occurring to people under 65 years. Some 300,000 people in England are living with moderate to severe disabilities as a result of a stroke. As the NAO report on this subject pointed out (HCP 452, session 05/06 NAO ISBN 010293570X), it costs the economy in total about £7 billion a year, with the direct cost to the NHS about £2.8 billion. This Committee of Public Accounts report takes evidence from the Department of Health and sets out a number of recommendations. The cost of stroke, in both economic and human terms, could be reduced by re-organizing existing services more effectively. Brain scans of many stroke patients are being delayed, everyone who suffers a stroke should be scanned as soon as possible after arrival in hospital, and should not wait more than 24 hours. Stroke patients should spend longer in hospital on a stroke unit, this could reduce the number of deaths. There needs to be an increase in the number of consultants who have training in dealing with strokes, as well as therapists and other specialist staff with expertise in stroke care across the primary and secondary healthcare sectors. The Department of Health should improve provision of information to stroke survivors and carers, so they are made more aware of the support services available. The Department should run an awareness campaign to improve public knowledge about strokes

National Offender Management Service
National Offender Management Service

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2006-06-06

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 9780215029164

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The prison population in England and Wales has been increasing since the 1990s and by November 2005 it reached a record level of 77,800, resulting in increased levels of overcrowding and stretched resources. Following on from a NAO report (HC 458, session 2005-06 (ISBN 0102935696) published in October 2005, the Committee's report examines how the Home Office, the Prison Service and the National Offender Management Service (which has responsibility for managing and accommodating prisoners) are dealing with the challenges involved in accommodating this record number of prisoners, the construction and use of temporary accommodation and the impact on the delivery of education and other training for prisoners. The Committee makes a number of conclusions and recommendations including in relation to: the deportation of foreign nationals, the use of alternatives to remand such as electronic tagging, contingency planning to ensure greater flexibility in accommodation plans including pilot testing new accommodation to identify possible problems early on, the application of best practice in anti-suicide monitoring measures, and the impact of moving prisoners around the prison estate on their training needs.

Identity and Passport Service
Identity and Passport Service

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2007-10-10

Total Pages: 52

ISBN-13: 9780215036292

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This report examines how lessons learnt from the introduction of ePassports will be incorporated into future projects; the cost of authenticating applicants' identities; passport fee trends; the measures being taken by the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) to hold down passport fees; and working with others to reduce costs and improve border security. An ePassport contains an electronic chip storing biographical data and a digital facial image of the passport holder. From 2009 new second generation ePassports will incorporate the fingerprints of the passport holder. Passport fees have risen ahead of inflation since September 2003 to fund ePassport technology and other projects intended to improve the security of the UK passport. From 2009 all passport applicants will have to attend in person to provide fingerprints for inclusion in second generation ePassports. The set-up cost of data collection, validation and storage necessary to introduce these changes will be substantial. During 2007 IPS has been introducing personal interviews at its 69 new interviewing offices for first time adult passport applicants. At least one of the 69 offices is intended to be within an hour's travel by public or private transport for 95% of the UK population (except in remote locations). But elderly and disabled people may still face difficulties in making the journey. With the introduction of second generation ePassports, all applicants will need to attend a local office to give their fingerprints. The long term durability of the chip embedded in the ePassport book is unproven.

The Academies Programme
The Academies Programme

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2007-10-18

Total Pages: 54

ISBN-13: 9780215036445

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An academy is a new type of school that is publicly funded, supported by one or more sponsors and operates independently of the local authority. Their aim is to raise achievement standards in deprived areas by replacing poorly performing schools or by providing new school places where they are needed. 83 academies were in operation by September 2007, with plans for 200 academies to be opened by 2010 at a capital cost of around £5 billion. Following on from a NAO report on this topic (HCP 254, session 2006-07; ISBN 9780102944426) published in February 2007, the Committee's report examines the progress of the Academies Programme and whether it is on track to achieve its objectives. Findings include: i) the average capital cost of the first new-build academies was £27 million, compared with between £20-22 million for other new secondary schools; ii) exclusions of pupils are higher on average from academies that other schools; and iii) although there are signs of progress being made, such as improvements at GCSE and key stage 3 levels, achievements in literacy and numeracy levels are lower than other secondary schools and it is too early to tell whether rising attainment is sustainable. Academies need to collaborate more with other secondary schools and lessons need to be learned from completed academy projects in terms of improving project management and reducing cost overruns.