Treasury Minutes on the Twenty Second, the Thirty Third and the Thirty Eighth to the Forty First Reports from the Committee of Public Accounts Session 2010-12

Treasury Minutes on the Twenty Second, the Thirty Third and the Thirty Eighth to the Forty First Reports from the Committee of Public Accounts Session 2010-12 PDF Author: Great Britain. Treasury
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780101817929
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
On cover: Government responses. The reports published as HC 801 (ISBN 9780215556448); HC 764 (ISBN 9780215559258); HC 833 (ISBN 9780215559760); HC 1035 (ISBN 9780215560407); HC 1050 (ISBN 9780215560346); HC 1036 (9780215560506). Dated September 2011

Treasury Minutes on the Twenty Second, the Thirty Third and the Thirty Eighth to the Forty First Reports from the Committee of Public Accounts Session 2010-12

Treasury Minutes on the Twenty Second, the Thirty Third and the Thirty Eighth to the Forty First Reports from the Committee of Public Accounts Session 2010-12 PDF Author: Great Britain. Treasury
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780101817929
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
On cover: Government responses. The reports published as HC 801 (ISBN 9780215556448); HC 764 (ISBN 9780215559258); HC 833 (ISBN 9780215559760); HC 1035 (ISBN 9780215560407); HC 1050 (ISBN 9780215560346); HC 1036 (9780215560506). Dated September 2011

Treasury Minutes on the Twenty-fourth and Thirty-fifth to Thirty-eighth Reports from the Committee of Public Accounts

Treasury Minutes on the Twenty-fourth and Thirty-fifth to Thirty-eighth Reports from the Committee of Public Accounts PDF Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Treasury Minute on the Thirty-first to Thirty-eighth and Forty-first Reports from the Committee of Public Accounts

Treasury Minute on the Thirty-first to Thirty-eighth and Forty-first Reports from the Committee of Public Accounts PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Accountability for public money - progress report

Accountability for public money - progress report PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215043740
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
This report is a follow-up to the Committee's report on Accountability for Public Money (HC 740, session 2010-11 (ISBN 9780215559029)) an issue at the core of the relationship between Parliament and government. Accounting Officers remain accountable to Parliament for funds voted to their departments but the policy intention is that local bodies will have significant discretion over the services they deliver. In the Government's response, 'Accountability: Adapting to Decentralisation', Sir Bob Kerslake drew a distinction between those services that government delivers directly and those that it may fund but are delivered in more decentralised arrangements. He proposed that Accounting Officers set out, in Accountability System Statements, the arrangements they have in place to provide assurance about the probity and value for money of funds spent through devolved systems. All departments are expected to produce Statements by summer 2012. Departments have made a genuine effort to develop arrangements which reconcile accountability and localism but the Statements so far are unwieldy and considerably more needs to be done to improve their clarity, consistency and completeness. There is concern that accountability frameworks must drive value for money and, critically, are sufficiently robust to address the operational or financial failure of service providers. Departments are placing increasing reliance on market mechanisms such as user choice to drive up performance and value for money, but there are limits to what these mechanisms can achieve. The Treasury needs to take ownership of the system and ensure that the Comptroller and Auditor General has the necessary powers and rights of access to examine the value for money of funds spent through devolved systems

Excess votes in 2010-11

Excess votes in 2010-11 PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215041586
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 20

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Book Description
The Committee of Public Accounts scrutinises the reasons behind individual Departments exceeding their allocated resources, and reports to the House of Commons on whether it has any objection to the amounts needed to rectify the reported excesses. The Committee may also make recommendations to Departments concerning the causes of these excesses. In 2010-11, two bodies breached their expenditure limits: The Department for Transport breached its Net Cash Requirement by £335.2 million, primarily because of weaknesses in monitoring its budget for the operation of its rail franchises; The Teachers' Pension Scheme (England & Wales) breached its Net Cash Requirement by £11.9 million because the Department for Education underestimated the number of members that would retire in 2010-11 and overestimated the contributions that would be collected from employers. On the basis of an examination of the reasons why these two bodies exceeded their voted provisions, the Committee has no objection to Parliament providing the necessary amounts by means of an Excess Vote. Nevertheless, it expects both bodies to set out what actions they have taken to improve their financial management and avoid exceeding their allocated resources in the future.

Treasury Minutes on the Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-sixth, Twenty-eighth and Thirty-first Reports from the Committee of Public Accounts

Treasury Minutes on the Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-sixth, Twenty-eighth and Thirty-first Reports from the Committee of Public Accounts PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Whole of government accounts 2009-10

Whole of government accounts 2009-10 PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215041593
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
In November 2011, HM Treasury published the first audited Whole of Government Accounts (WGA), covering the year 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 (HC 1601, ISBN 9780102975192). The Committee welcomes this major step forward in improving transparency and accountability and highlights some of the information it contains: at 31 March 2010 the government's public service pensions liability was around £1,132 billion; the present value of its future commitments under PFI schemes was £131.5 billion; the government wrote off £10.9 billion in unpaid taxes and expected to have to pay £15.7 billion for outstanding clinical negligence claims; cost of future nuclear decommissioning (£56.7 billion); the need for stronger accountability systems to secure effective responsibility for cost and value for money at local levels - academies, Free Schools, Foundation Trusts and GP consortia. But the WGA will only serve its purpose- showing what the government owns, owes, spends and receives - if it is timely and robust. The figures in the first audited WGA are too dated because Treasury took 20 months to prepare and publish the report. Treasury must address the issues that led the Comptroller and Auditor General to qualify his audit opinion on the WGA 2009-10. A key issue is Treasury's decision to deviate from accounting standards, by omitting Network Rail, the publicly owned banks, and various other government-controlled or owned bodies from the WGA. The Committee sets out a set of principles that future accounts should follow.

The free entitlement to education for three and four year olds

The free entitlement to education for three and four year olds PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215045102
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
The Department for Education provides funding for local authorities to pay for three and four year olds to receive their entitlement to 15 hours of free education each week. The Department devolves delivery to local authorities and providers but it is responsible for the overall value for money from the system. In 2011-12 the Department's estimated funding for the entitlement of £1.9 billion provided over 800,000 three and four year olds with access to free education; an estimated annual allocation of approximately £2,300 per child. While the Department and local authorities have focused on ensuring places for children are available, there has been less attention on how value for money can be secured and improved. While there is evidence of educational improvement at age five, the evidence that this is sustained is questionable. The Department needs to do more to understand how educational benefits can be lasting. There is not enough good information for parents to make informed choices and there is concern at reports that some families are still not receiving the entitlement free of charge. It is important that all parents know what the entitlement is and that it should be provided completely free. Early years education has the greatest benefit for children from disadvantaged backgrounds however these children have the lowest levels of take-up and deprived areas have the lowest levels of high quality services. The Department needs to identify and share good practice from those local authorities which are having the most success.

HM Treasury

HM Treasury PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215056993
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
Infrastructure UK, an advisory unit within the Treasury, was established in 2010 with a remit to specify what economic infrastructure is needed in the UK, to identify the key barriers to achieving that investment and to mobilise systems and resources, both public and private to make it happen. The first National Infrastructure Plan was published in 2010. The latest update of the plan, published in December 2012, comprised over 500 prospective programmes and projects for new economic infrastructure expected to cost £310 billion. Some 64% of this amount is expected to be spent on infrastructure that will be wholly owned and financed by the private sector with households bearing the costs through higher bills or fares. Many of the investment proposals impact on energy supply and are therefore particularly time critical. The Committee believes that this will lead to higher costs which will be borne by consumers and are particularly concerned at the impact of higher energy bills on those with low incomes. Many of the programmes are broad categories and in total they include more than 200 individual projects. This does not suggest a properly targeted and prioritised infrastructure plan. Furthermore, the statutory framework provided by the Energy Bill is coming rather late in the day when the energy crunch is fast approaching. It is likely that the UK will buy ever more energy from overseas and at a higher price due to the failure to secure investment. In these circumstances greater transparency is needed over investors' costs, risks and rewards

Means testing

Means testing PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215040183
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
The Government uses means testing to distribute at least £87 billion of benefits to claimants each year, around 13% of total public spending. The poorest fifth of households rely on means-tested benefits for a third of their net income. The planned introduction of a new means-tested Universal Credit will replace a number of existing means-tested benefits. Currently 30 different means tested benefits are managed by nine departments and 152 local authorities in England. But Departments have a limited understanding of how their design of benefits affects incentives for employment, the burden on claimants, take-up and administrative costs. Departments need to improve their understanding of how all benefits interact and how changes to eligibility rules can affect claimants. Complexity increases the burden on claimants which can harm take-up, and is likely to disadvantage the most vulnerable members of society in particular. The Government expects Universal Credit reforms to simplify the system and improve incentives to find work. The DWP's priority is to focus on the effective delivery of these reforms. However, success will also depend on proper coordination between Universal Credit and other means-tested benefits. In addition, DWP and HMRC are designing a real-time information (RTI) system for Universal Credit to reduce the risk of overpayments, with benefits being recalculated as soon as circumstances change. Both DWP and HMRC need to understand how the introduction of this system will impact on small businesses and the self-employed who may not have the necessary IT to administer it.