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20 Jul 2011
NAO COMPTROLLER and auditor general Amyas Morse has qualified the accounts for four more government bodies days after qualifying the accounts of the Ministry of Defence.
He raised significant faults involving the accounts of: the Department for Work and Pensions; the Skills Funding Agency; the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and; the Rural Payments Agency.
Further reading
Morse said that the DWP, whose accounts have been qualified since 1988-89, blamed the material level of fraud and error on state benefits of an estimated £3.3bn.
The NAO report said that plans to introduce a Universal Credit to replace some existing benefits is an opportunity for improvement.
Morse said: "No system to administer benefits can ever be perfect but I believe that there is scope for the department to reduce fraud and error levels significantly."
He criticised the Skills Funding Agency for failing to consolidate further education colleges' results in its accounts, which in his opinion was required to comply with the International Financial Reporting Standards.
The SFA considered this would not be cost effective.
Morse's qualification of Defra's and the RAP's accounts was on the grounds of regularity following penalties totalling £175m from the European Commission resulting from failings involving subsidy payments to farmers between 2007 and 2009 and likely further penalties totaling £84m expected for last year.
He also criticised the agency's failure to make an accurate assessment of the value of over and under-payments since the Single Payment Scheme began.
Earlier, Morse qualified the MoD's accounts for the fifth time running for inadequate evidence to account for £5.3bn of equipment, and for failing to follow international accounting requirements for leases.
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What Hope IS There!
If these were private sector bodies there would be all hell to pay! If government bodies cannot control their finances what hope for the rest of us and the country with all its dire financial problems. It is disgraceful that the NAO continue to qualify accounts year after year - are not lessons being learnt or does the NAO have no clout? The level of benefit fraud and errors is unbelievable, wholly unacceptable and shows an abysmal level of performance, managment and control by those responsible. The UK has a massive budget deficit, thanks mainly to the last inept Labour Administration, and government bodies accounts must quickly show a dramatic improvement, levels of competency must be significantly raised, and all waste of hard earned tax payers' money eliminated! If in doubt kick it out! The coalition government must come down hard on these government bodies, and force them to get their accounts in order, and their act together! If the NAO is ineffective and helpless then strengthen its powers or establish a new body that can compel the changes. Private sector bodies would not hear the last of it if it were them and, of course, most of them would go bankrupt - I am simply amazed and staggered!
Posted by: K J Stones FCCA FCMI, 21 Jul 2011 | 13:14
But the NAO are the best we have
That is why the Audit Commission is being subsumed into the NAO.
The District Auditors exposed things like Dame Shirley Porter - so they are to be abolished.
The NAO allowed the excessive expenses of Sir John Bourne schmoozing those it was meant to be investigating. So it is being being given more power to say as little as possible.
Posted by: Eleanor, 21 Jul 2011 | 16:24
Then there is no Hope!
If the NAO is the best we have then, in answer to my own question, there is no hope - God help us!
Posted by: K J Stones FCCA FCMI, 22 Jul 2011 | 12:22
National politics and state capitalism
Ah, the case of Dame Shirley Porter. She was originally surcharged the astronomical sum of £42 million with interest and costs.
But such were the heights of discrimination in the UK parliamentary system in the 1990's - the rules were changed afterwards to allow gerrymandering to take place free of financial penalties.
Incidentally still in the public sector, flouting the UN Charter for much much worse carries no penalty for any politician.
Posted by: slightly optimistic, 25 Jul 2011 | 14:45