Overview of NAO work relating to Jobcentre Plus Presentation to NAWRA 2 September 2005 Rebecca Sidell Dawson Auditor - Welfare, Work & Education VFM
Our role To provide independent information, assurance and advice to Parliament on the use of public resources across central government To help promote better financial management and value for money to bring about improvements in public services
About the NAO Headed by the C&AG Independent of Government 800 staff Save £8 for every £1 in running costs (£515 million saved by our work in ) Key areas of work: - Financial Audit - Value for Money (VFM) - Promoting good practice Public Accounts Committee
How we identify issues for our VFM studies Balance – benefits/administration/client groups Key risk areas Complement financial audit work Quality of service to the public Key departmental objectives – PSAs, Welfare to Work Social exclusion External expectations and interests – PAC etc
Recently published reports Managing attendance in the Department for Work and Pensions Tackling the barriers to the employment of older workers Helping those in hardship: the running of the Social Fund Progress in improving the medical assessment of incapacity and disability benefits Getting it right, putting it right - Improving decision-making and appeals in social security benefits
Studies in progress Helping people with disabilities into work Communicating with the public: ensuring accurate information Contact centres in DWP Dealing with the complexity of the benefits system
Areas for potential future studies Progress in tackling pensioner poverty Making the most of Personal Advisers in Jobcentre Plus Child Support Agency
Concluding thoughts General observations from this year’s work Consultation process Any questions? Ideas for future work? Contact details: Rebecca Sidell Dawson Welfare Work & Education (A6) Buckingham Palace Road London SW1W 9SP Phone: Website: