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 right of access to open countryside
The right of access to open countryside

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

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2007-06-21

Total Pages: 52

ISBN-13: 0215034570

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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.

The modernisation of the West Coast Main Line
The modernisation of the West Coast Main Line

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

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2007-06-14

Total Pages: 60

ISBN-13: 0215034481

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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.

Oversight of special education for young people aged 16-25
Oversight of special education for young people aged 16-25

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

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2012-02-24

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 9780215041906

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Almost a third of young people with a Statement of special educational needs at the age of 16 are not in any form of education, employment or training two years later. The Government spent £640 million on special education for 16- to 25-year-olds in 2009-10, yet too many of these young people are falling through the gaps after they leave compulsory education, damaging their life chances and leaving a legacy of costs to the taxpayer. The system is extremely complex and difficult to navigate, with an array of different providers. Too many parents and young people are not given the information they need to make decisions about what is right for them. But three quarters of local authorities do not give parents any information at all about the respective performance of schools, FE colleges and specialist providers. The Department doesn't know how much money is actually spent on support. The huge variation between local authorities in funding per student suggests that a postcode lottery is at work. Students with higher-level needs are placed on the basis of statutory assessments of need; however, witnesses emphasised just how patchy the quality of these assessments can be. The opportunity for reform presented by the Department's recent Special Educational Needs Green Paper should be used to address our concerns It is right for local authorities to decide how to meet the needs of young people in their area - but local people must have access to clear information so that they can hold local authorities to account for how well they deliver

Transforming NHS ambulance services
Transforming NHS ambulance services

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

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2011-09-16

Total Pages: 52

ISBN-13: 9780215561329

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In 2009-10 the eleven regional ambulance services in England handled 7.9 million emergency calls and spent 1.5 billion pounds on urgent and emergency services. They are expected to make 4 percent efficiency savings year on year in a time when public demand for services continues to rise. Performance was measured against three response time targets until 1 April 2011, but the incentive to meet these targets has led to some inefficiency, such as when more than one team is sent to incidents. The Committee welcomes the decision to introduce a wider suite of health quality indicators to create a broader performance regime in which response times remain one indicator. There is wide variation in the cost of responding to an incident across the services, and there is a need for more consistent performance data in order to benchmark and share best practice. Under the NHS reforms there is vagueness around who will be responsible for what: who commissions ambulance services; who is responsible for improving efficiency in ambulance services or who will intervene if a service has financial trouble or seriously under performs? There is need for greater clarity on the roles and responsibilities of the Department, commissioners and ambulance trusts with appropriate structures for accountability. Other parts of the Health service affect ambulance services and a more integrated emergency care system is needed to ensure that ambulances are utilised in the most efficient manner. Levels of collaboration between ambulance, fire and police services could be strengthened.

Preparing for Sporting Success at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Beyond
Preparing for Sporting Success at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Beyond

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

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 9780215522092

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The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and UK Sport have responsibility for elite sport in the UK. To support goals for London 2012, the Government has agreed a package of funding of over £700 million, while the DCMS will be required to raise £100 million from the private sector. This report follows up recommendations in the Committee's previous report on supporting elite athletes published in July 2006 (HC 898, session 2005-06. ISBN 9780215029768). It was found then that many funded sports had not met their medal targets at the Athens games in 2004. In particular concerns were raised about the way UK Sport measured and reported its own performance and the need for greater clarity about the level of performance required from individual sports in order to secure future funding was highlighted. UK Sport continues to plan on the basis that it will receive all of its funding up to 2012. However there remains a risk that the £100 million from the private sector will not all be raised.On the basis of a report by Comptroller and Auditor General (HC 434, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780102953084) the Committee took evidence from the DCMS and UK Sport on their fudning strategy for medial success at London 2012; their setting of targets and monitoring of progress towards the Games; and their approach to securing wider and long term benefits from elite sporting success.

Tax Avoidance
Tax Avoidance

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

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2013-02-19

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13: 9780215054142

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HMRC estimates that in 2010-11 the tax gap due to avoidance was £5 billion and that the present total tax at risk from avoidance over time is £10.2 billion. There is a proliferation of contrived schemes which exploit loopholes in legislation and abuse available tax relief schemes. Promoters are deliberately taking advantage of the time lag between the launch of a scheme and the closure of the scheme by HMRC. Promoters and providers sign up as many clients as possible before HMRC changes the law and shuts the scheme. They then move on to a new scheme and repeat the process. The complexity of tax law creates opportunities for avoidance, there is no effective deterrent, and HMRC is ineffective in challenging promoters. All too often Government introduces tax incentives to stimulate economic activity that become an opportunity for tax avoidance. Promoters collect their fees even when the schemes are found not to deliver a tax advantage and few schemes are covered by mis-selling regulations. Those who promote a tax avoidance scheme are required to notify HMRC of the scheme however, HMRC does not know how much avoidance is not disclosed but should. It is alarming that some QCs' opinions are being used by promoters as a "reasonable excuse" for non-disclosure which prevents HMRC from applying a penalty. HMRC could learn from how other countries deter and tackle tax avoidance. HMRC should also name and shame those who promote tax avoidance schemes, to harness public opinion and reduce the appetite of companies to promote or use avoidance schemes.

HM Revenue and Customs
HM Revenue and Customs

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

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2007-06-12

Total Pages: 52

ISBN-13: 0215034376

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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.