Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 20 pages
File Size : 30,30 MB
Release : 2008-02
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780215513403
Excess Votes 2006-07 : Seventh report of session 2007-08, report, together with formal Minutes
Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 20 pages
File Size : 24,45 MB
Release : 2014-04-30
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0215071778
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. In 2012-13 two bodies breached their expenditure limits: the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Food Standards Agency. The Ministry of Defence also required a token increase because of a Defence Votes A excess. On the basis of the examination of the reasons why these bodies exceeded their voted, the Committee has no objection to Parliament providing the necessary amounts by means of an Excess Vote. Nevertheless, it expects the Department for Communities and Local Government to set out what actions it has taken to improve their financial management and avoid exceeding their allocated resources in the future. And, as recommended last year, HM Treasury, as the UK's Ministry of Finance, should ensure departments are fully aware of the need to operate within their voted provisions. HM Treasury should continue to regularly monitor the progress departments are making against their Estimates during the year and, where possible, take appropriate action to prevent departments exceeding their provision.
Author : Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Public Accounts Committee. (Session 2008-09).
Publisher :
Page : 12 pages
File Size : 38,52 MB
Release : 2009
Category :
ISBN : 9780215526427
Excess Votes 2007-08 : Seventh report of session 2008-09, report, together with formal Minutes
Author : House of Commons Public Accounts Committ
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 56 pages
File Size : 32,54 MB
Release : 2009
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780215529138
The Parole Board (the Board), a Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, is responsible for deciding whether an offender is suitable for release from custody on parole. The Board's workload of cases to assess has more than doubled in a five year period. The balance has also shifted from more straightforward paper based hearings to more resource intensive oral hearings, where the offender attends and is questioned. This increase in workload stems from the rising prison population and new sentencing regimes. The Board's administrative performance is undermined by a lack of capacity to hear cases, and it often does not receive the key information required to make their assessment on serious offenders. The Prison and probation services have been unable to provide the timely and complete information necessary for the efficient and effective running of the parole process. There are further problems with the oral hearings: two-thirds of oral hearings have not been held in their planned month and 20 per cent of hearings have been held more than 12 months late. These delays are unacceptable and costly - direct costs of £1 million in 2007-07, and nearly £2 million costs to the Prison Service in keeping offenders who should have been released or transferred to open conditions. These costs are significant when set against the Board's net expenditure in 2007-8 of £7.4 million, and the Board needs to administer hearings more effectively. The Board should also be more independent, and its membership more accurately reflect the composition of society.
Author : Will Bateman
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 283 pages
File Size : 21,11 MB
Release : 2020-09-24
Category : Law
ISBN : 1108800734
Public Finance and Parliamentary Constitutionalism analyses constitutionalism and public finance (tax, expenditure, audit, sovereign borrowing and monetary finance) in Anglophone parliamentary systems of government. The book surveys the history of public finance law in the UK, its export throughout the British Empire, and its entrenchment in Commonwealth constitutions. It explains how modern constitutionalism was shaped by the financial impact of warfare, welfare-state programs and the growth of central banking. It then provides a case study analysis of the impact of economic conditions on governments' financial behaviour, focusing on the UK's and Australia's responses to the financial crisis, and the judiciary's position vis-à-vis the state's financial powers. Throughout, it questions orthodox accounts of financial constitutionalism (particularly the views of A. V. Dicey) and the democratic legitimacy of public finance. Currently ignored aspects of government behaviour are analysed in-depth, particularly the constitutional role of central banks and sovereign debt markets.
Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 52 pages
File Size : 31,77 MB
Release : 2009
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780215530288
In 2005, the Department for Transport took over responsibility for passenger rail franchising from the Strategic Rail Authority. Eight franchises, half of the 16 franchises currently in operation across the country, have been re-let, with the train operator on six out of the eight franchises being changed. The Department specifies the minimum levels and quality of passenger services and agrees annual levels of subsidy or premium which it will pay to, or receive from, each train operator for franchise terms of typically 7-10 years. It has announced plans to add a total of 1,300 additional rail carriages to operator fleets across all 16 franchises to reduce overcrowding. In January 2009, the average increase of unregulated fares was 7 per cent, with some as high as 20 per cent. Special low fare offers are available, often through the internet, but those without access to a computer may need help to identify and book these fares. The Department projected that taxpayer support for the eight franchises would reduce and, in five cases, turn into payments from the train operators. If the projections are realised, a direct subsidy of £811 million to train operators in 2006-07 would be replaced by a £326 million receipt from train operators in 2011-12. Grants to Network Rail, if kept at the 2005-06 level, would mean passenger services receiving £926 million of support from the taxpayer in 2011-12, reduced from about £2,063 million in 2005-06. This reflects a policy of rebalancing service costs, with a higher proportion for the passenger and an overall reduction in subsidy. This outcome depends more on continued rail passenger growth than on fare increases.
Author : American Bar Association. House of Delegates
Publisher : American Bar Association
Page : 216 pages
File Size : 24,4 MB
Release : 2007
Category : Law
ISBN : 9781590318737
The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.
Author : Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 44 pages
File Size : 28,16 MB
Release : 2008
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780215524928
This is the 52nd report from the Committee of Public Accounts (HC 571, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215524928), and it follows an NAO report (HC 342, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780102953114). It looks at protection of consumers through removal of price controls by regulators, examines the benefits of this decision to different groups of consumers and the challenges of regulating these markets. The regulators Ofcom, Ofgem and Postcomm have statutory objectives requiring them to protect consumers through the introduction of competition, where appropriate. Between 2002 and 2006, each removed retail price controls from the following: fixed line telephone provision; gas and electricity supply; special delivery postal services for business account users. Once price controls are removed, regulators rely on consumers to switch suppliers, so in theory rewarding companies who offer good service and competitive prices. For this to work, consumers need good information about the different suppliers, must be able to switch supplier easily, have confidence in the market to believe changing supplier will make a difference and, when necessary, obtain redress if the company behaves anti-competitively. Regulators need to ensure the competition is working effectively and that there is protection for vulnerable consumers, especially at a time of large increases in energy prices and telecoms prices above those of most countries.
Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 52 pages
File Size : 44,4 MB
Release : 2008
Category : Education
ISBN : 9780215523648
The 14-19 education reform programme aims to increase young people's participation in education and training beyond age 16 and raise their educational attainment. Central to the programme are new Diploma qualifications, being introduced between September 2008 and 2013, in 14 different occupational areas that offer a blend of academic and vocational learning. This report examines: giving all young people access to Diplomas; reducing complexity and communicating simply; and having the capability to deliver the reforms. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (the Department) has involved universities and employers in designing the Diplomas and developing their content. As new qualifications, there is still much work to be done to convince parents, employers and universities that Diplomas are a credible alternative to existing qualifications. To help make the qualifications more understandable, the Department and its partners need to demonstrate clearly how Diplomas will help young people progress into further learning and employment. By 2013, the Department is aiming for all young people in England to have access to all 14 Diplomas at three different skill levels. The Department has spent £590 million on the programme. It has not yet established cost estimates built up from the local level for delivering Diplomas, and has only just begun surveying local authorities to assess their capital requirements.
Author : Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Public Accounts Committee
Publisher : The Stationery Office
Page : 44 pages
File Size : 46,64 MB
Release : 2008
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780215525468
This report (HC 814, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215525468) looks at the work of the British Council and what impact the Council has working with whole societies, how it makes best use of resources and their efforts to increase consistency across the British Council network. It follows an NAO report (HCP 625, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780102954173), on the same topic. The British Council is a Registered Charity and an executive Non-Departmental Public Body as well as a Public Corporation. It aims to build relationships between people in the UK and other countries, through teaching English and running cultural projects. It operates in over 110 countries and engages with over 15 million people a year worldwide. The Committee has set out a number of conclusions and recommendations, including: that the British Council should be congratulated for its achievements in promoting the English language and culture overseas; the Committee believes though that the current teaching model, based on premium prices and concentrated mainly in capital cities, severely restricts its reach; that the Council's recent programme of change has had a negative effect on staff and their view of the Council's leadership; the Council is without a single customer relationship management system, which it is now going to address; that sponsorship and partner income has fallen year on year since 2000-01, and the Council should do more to reverse this trend; the Committee has identified a lack of consistency across the network.
