Holding Government to Account

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Author :
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1040266169
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis Holding Government to Account by : Henry C Midgley

Download or read book Holding Government to Account written by Henry C Midgley and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-12-03 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The National Audit Office has played an important role in the checks and balances of the UK parliamentary and political system over the last 40 years. This new book, more than just a history of the UK’s supreme audit institution, examines the very definition of accountability through both an historic and an academic lens, critically exploring questions about the role of audit in a democracy and how well it is working. Holding Government to Account draws on several unique sources of evidence, including interviews with senior officials from the National Audit Office and the civil service, as well as senior parliamentarians with experience of the NAO’s relationships with government and legislature. These interviews are supplemented by an analysis of previously unpublished manuscript material in the National Archives, examination of NAO reports and parliamentary and other reports focused on accountability. The book begins with a history of the National Audit Office in the context of the UK’s wider history. It then offers an overview of the constitutional, political and human legacies of the Exchequer and Audit Department, followed by a close examination of the National Audit Office’s leadership and decision-making from inception in 1984 through to the present. The authors conclude with an exploration of the way in which the meaning of public sector audit has evolved over time, in accordance with its wider political, ideological and material context. In doing so, they demonstrate that any question about the National Audit Office’s future and organisation is really a question about what democracy and good government mean in a modern bureaucratic state. Holding Government to Account will be of keen interest to students enrolled in courses on accounting, public administration, law and politics as well as to politicians, civil servants and Supreme Audit Institutions internationally.

The Stationery Office Annual Catalogue 2008

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Publisher : Stationery Office Annual Catal
ISBN 13 : 9780115010507
Total Pages : 612 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (15 download)

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Book Synopsis The Stationery Office Annual Catalogue 2008 by : U K Stationery Office

Download or read book The Stationery Office Annual Catalogue 2008 written by U K Stationery Office and published by Stationery Office Annual Catal. This book was released on 2009-11 with total page 612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No public library discount on this title.

Financial Management in the NHS

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Author :
Publisher : The Stationery Office
ISBN 13 : 9780103285177
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (851 download)

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Book Synopsis Financial Management in the NHS by : Great Britain: National Audit Office

Download or read book Financial Management in the NHS written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2005-06-24 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This joint report was prepared by the National Audit Office and the Audit Commission, and contains the findings from the NAO's audit of the NHS summarized accounts and the Audit Commission's appointed auditors' work on the 2003-04 accounts of individual NHS organizations. The report outlines the financial issues facing individual NHS organizations, with an overview of the effects of these issues at national level and how this will affect the national health economy. In 2003-04 the NHS spent a total of £63 billion, with expenditure costs in the NHS rising by 7.3 per cent each year. This will increase the costs to £76 billion for the 2005-06, and £93 billion for 2007-08 periods. Alongside this increasing expenditure, the Government has set out various reform plans, including the establishment of the NHS Foundation Trusts, new staffing contracts, the development of the information technology infrastructure, and the way hospitals are funded. In the Summary of the financial performance for 2003-04 period, the number of bodies failing to achieve a financial balance had increased, along with an increase in the number of bodies with significant financial deficits. In all, 106 NHS bodies failed to achieve an in-year financial balance, and 14% of the Primary Care Trusts failed to keep expenditure within their resource limit, also a small number of NHS bodies are struggling to manage large deficits. The report advocates four key themes for the improvement of financial management: the role of the Board - who should display better oversight and improve their financial acumen; forecasting - NHS bodies should continually test whether cost savings programmes are realistic, and take account more effectively for risk factors in their financial planning, as well as set realistic budgets at the beginning of the year; earlier preparation of accounts - improvements in financial reporting, and the provision of financial information throughout the year should closely reflect the standard and range of information required in the annual accounts; transparency - that boards, managers, stakeholders would benefit from clarity in the way the accounts are organized, and that the amount of financial support received by the trusts should be clearly stated. With the introduction of Payment by Results and the use of independent healthcare providers the income received by NHS Trusts is no longer certain. So overall improvements in their financial forecasting and modeling, with NHS Trusts in particular developing their commercial financial skills, would be beneficial especially if they intend to become foundation trusts.

The Stationery Office Annual Catalogue

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 542 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (334 download)

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Book Synopsis The Stationery Office Annual Catalogue by : Stationery Office (Great Britain)

Download or read book The Stationery Office Annual Catalogue written by Stationery Office (Great Britain) and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 542 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Releasing resources to the frontline

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Author :
Publisher : The Stationery Office
ISBN 13 : 9780102951967
Total Pages : 48 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (519 download)

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Book Synopsis Releasing resources to the frontline by : Great Britain: National Audit Office

Download or read book Releasing resources to the frontline written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-01-25 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arm's Length Bodies (ALBs) are stand-alone, national organisations that are sponsored by the Department of Health to deliver specialised services and functions. ALBs range in size, but normally have boards, employ staff and publish accounts, and receive substantial funding from the Department. This National Audit Office report examines the allocation of resources and potential efficiencies that such bodies require. There are four categories of ALB: (i) Regulation of the healthcare system, e.g. Healthcare Commission; (ii) Establishing of national standards for healthcare, e.g. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; (iii) Safety and public welfare, e.g. Health Protection Agency; (iv) Provision of central services to the NHS, e.g. NHS Litigation Authority. In 2003-04, there were 38 ALBs, employing some 25,000 staff and receiving £1.2 billion grant-in-aid funding. The NAO has set out a number of recommendations, including: to deliver efficiencies in ALBs, targets should focus on value for money defined in terms of total resources; Departments must be clear about what targets mean in practice and that any decisions to merge or reconfigure such bodies should be based on an Impact Assessment, identifying the costs and benefits of the change; Departments intending to deliver efficiencies through their ALBs, should map out their ALB sector and understand the individual circumstances of the particular ALB; Departments should also establish baseline performance and financial metrics; sponsors or other parts of the Department should not commission new work from ALBs without prior discussion with the central ALB finance team; after the conclusion of the ALB Review in 2008-09, good practice governance arrangements should be maintained, with appropriate assessment of the purpose and value for money of any new ALBs established.

National Audit Office - Charity Commission: The Regulatory Effectiveness of the Charity Commossion - HC 813

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Author :
Publisher : The Stationery Office
ISBN 13 : 9780102987164
Total Pages : 52 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (871 download)

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Book Synopsis National Audit Office - Charity Commission: The Regulatory Effectiveness of the Charity Commossion - HC 813 by : Great Britain: National Audit Office

Download or read book National Audit Office - Charity Commission: The Regulatory Effectiveness of the Charity Commossion - HC 813 written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-12-04 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Charity Commission is not regulating charities effectively and there is a gap between what the public expects of the Commission and what it actually does. The NAO has concluded that the Commission does not do enough to identify and tackle abuse of charitable status. Between 2007-08 and 2013-14, the Commission's annual budget fell 40 per cent in real terms to £22.7 million but the number of main registered charities has remained fairly constant at around 160,000. In response to budget cuts, the Commission has reviewed how it works and successfully reduced demand for its services, but it has not identified what budget it would need to regulate effectively. The Commission makes little use of its enforcement powers, for example suspending only two trustees and removing none in 2012-13. And it can be slow to act when investigating regulatory concerns. The NAO found cases where periods of several months passed during which the Commission took no action. Furthermore, the Charity Commission does not take tough enough action in some of the most serious regulatory cases. It is also reactive rather than proactive, making insufficient use of the information it holds to identify risk. The Charity Commission needs to think radically about alternative ways of meeting its objectives with constrained resources. It also needs to make greater use of its statutory powers in line with its objective of maintaining confidence in the sector; and develop an approach to identify and deal with those few trustees who deliberately abuse charitable status. This report publishes alongside another NAO report, the Cup Trust.

Financial management in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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Author :
Publisher : The Stationery Office
ISBN 13 : 9780102955019
Total Pages : 36 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (55 download)

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Book Synopsis Financial management in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office by : Great Britain: National Audit Office

Download or read book Financial management in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-06-03 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has made good progress in its financial management, aiming to establish itself as one of the best departments in Whitehall in this respect. It has shown strong leadership in raising the profile of good financial management across the Department. Up to 2007-08, however, the FCO has underspent consistently against its budget. The Department has introduced a financial management improvement programme "Five Star Finance", the aim of which is for the department to be a Whitehall leader in financial management. It currently rates itself at three and a half stars on a 1(low) to 5 (high) scale, a rating confirmed by NAO. The FCO operates in a challenging environment in terms of the global nature of its operations. The fluctuations of global currency markets pose particular difficulties for the Department. Until 2007-08, its budgets were protected by the Treasury from exchange rate fluctuations. When this protection was withdrawn, the FCO introduced alternative measures to manage its exposure, principally the forward purchase of major foreign currencies. It needs to ensure that its finance team has the right skills and experience to manage the financial risks it now faces. The FCO is taking action to avoid future underspends against its budget. In other respects, FCO's financial management has improved. The accuracy, reliability and timeliness of its financial reporting have all been enhanced. In 2007-08 it laid its accounts on 30 June, the earliest date it has ever achieved after the March year-end.

NHS Deficits

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Author :
Publisher : The Stationery Office
ISBN 13 : 9780215029577
Total Pages : 204 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (295 download)

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Book Synopsis NHS Deficits by : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Health Committee

Download or read book NHS Deficits written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Health Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-07-03 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NHS Deficits : Sixth report of session 2005-06, Vol. 2: Written Evidence

Financial Management in the Home Office

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Author :
Publisher : The Stationery Office
ISBN 13 : 9780102955002
Total Pages : 40 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (55 download)

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Book Synopsis Financial Management in the Home Office by : Great Britain. National Audit Office

Download or read book Financial Management in the Home Office written by Great Britain. National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Home Office has made substantial improvements in its financial management since 2006, when the Comptroller and Auditor General disclaimed an opinion on its 2004-05 Resource Accounts. Further sustained improvement will still be needed over the next few years, so that good financial management becomes "business as usual" across all of the Department's operations, which will help the Department maximise the value for money of its service delivery. The Department has increased the number of professionally qualified finance staff, particularly in senior finance roles, and has improved financial governance and leadership. Improvements are also evident in the Department's financial planning and decision making; budgeting; financial monitoring and forecasting; and financial reporting. The unqualified audit opinion on its 2007-08 Resource Accounts was an important symbol of the progress made. There are areas for further improvement. The strategic management of the Department's capital programme has not been responsive enough to avoid large underspends, which amounted to £725 million over the 5 years to 31 March 2008. The Treasury has capped access to these funds at £292 million and the Department will need to deliver on the plans it has in place to use them by 2010-11. The Department also needs to develop further its understanding of the cost of its activities and the relationship between resource consumption and service outcomes. The Department recognises these issues and has been undertaking work with the aim of improving capital programme management and the basis on which decisions are made for funding allocations.

HM Customs and Excise Standard Report 2003-04

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Author :
Publisher : The Stationery Office
ISBN 13 : 0215026403
Total Pages : 44 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (15 download)

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Book Synopsis HM Customs and Excise Standard Report 2003-04 by : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts

Download or read book HM Customs and Excise Standard Report 2003-04 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2005-12-06 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: HM Customs and Excise (now part of HM Revenue and Customs) collected £162 billion of gross receipts in 2003-04 in value added tax (VAT) and excise and customs duties from over 1.8 million business traders. The Committee's report examines the NAO standard report on the work of the Department during 2003-04 (contained within the 95th report of the Commissioners of Her Majestys Customs and Excise for 2003-04, published as HCP 119, session 2004-05, ISBN 0102931593 in December 2004). It makes a number of recommendations focusing on work related to the two key revenue streams of VAT (which generates £63.6 billion net) and hydrocarbon oils, mainly on petron and diesel fuel (which provides £12.7 billion and £9.8 billion respectively).

The cost of public service pensions

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Author :
Publisher : The Stationery Office
ISBN 13 : 9780102963571
Total Pages : 44 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (635 download)

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Book Synopsis The cost of public service pensions by : Great Britain: National Audit Office

Download or read book The cost of public service pensions written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-12 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There has been much public discussion about the affordability of public service pensions. This National Audit Office report aims to bring greater transparency to, and understanding of, the cash costs involved. Total payments to more than 2 million pensioners in the UK's four largest pay-as-you-go pension schemes (also known as unfunded schemes - where current employee and employer contributions are used to pay current pensions) were £19.3 billion in 2008-09, a real terms increase of 38 per cent since 1999-2000. This is driven by more employees retiring each year, which is a substantially more significant factor than longer lifespans. Employee contributions of £4.4 billion reduced the taxpayer's share of costs to £14.9 billion in 2008-09. The employee element grew by 56 per cent in real terms since 1999-2000 because staff numbers and contribution rates have increased. The report also looks at projections of payments across all UK public sector pay-as-you-go pension schemes over the next fifty years. Expressed in terms of constant 2008-09 prices, the Government Actuary's Department projects total payments rising to over £79 billion a year by 2059-60. The Treasury has a reasonable framework in place for assessing future costs and has undertaken some analysis on the sensitivity of projections to changes in key assumptions. The Treasury has not undertaken any systematic analysis of the effects of changing its assumption that there will be zero public service headcount growth, despite the existence of several factors that could put upwards pressure on staff numbers in the long term.

Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 782 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (121 download)

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Book Synopsis Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications by :

Download or read book Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 782 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

International Benchmark of Fraud and Error in Social Security Systems

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Author :
Publisher : The Stationery Office
ISBN 13 : 0102942293
Total Pages : 92 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (29 download)

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Book Synopsis International Benchmark of Fraud and Error in Social Security Systems by : Great Britain: National Audit Office

Download or read book International Benchmark of Fraud and Error in Social Security Systems written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-07-20 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The report, based on research carried out by RAND Europe and commissioned by the National Audit Office, presents the results of a benchmarking exercise investigating the issue of fraud and error in the social security systems of eight European and non-European countries (covering Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and the United States). The study describes the different systems studied, assesses the scale and prominence of the problem in a national context, outlines approaches taken to measure and to reduce fraud and error, and draws out the principal themes emerging from the comparisons of relevance for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Findings include that the availability of data and methodologies for measuring fraud and error at national level vary considerably, but the DWP is at the forefront in developing estimates of losses arising from fraud and error in social security expenditure. The high levels of estimated fraud and error in expenditure on benefits, £2.6 billion in 2004-05, have led to the NAO qualifying the DWP's accounts and those of the former Department of Social Security for 16 years in a row. The rates of fraud at the DWP appear comparable to those of other countries, such as USA, Ireland, Canada and New Zealand, and it compares favourably in terms of awareness of the problem and activities to combat the problem.

Managing financial resources to deliver public services

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Author :
Publisher : The Stationery Office
ISBN 13 : 9780102952926
Total Pages : 52 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (529 download)

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Book Synopsis Managing financial resources to deliver public services by : Great Britain: National Audit Office

Download or read book Managing financial resources to deliver public services written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-02-20 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report examines the management of financial resources to deliver better public services effectively. Divided into four parts, with appendices, it looks at the following areas: Part 1: The importance of managing financial resources; Part 2: Developing the skills and awareness necessary for effective financial resource management; Part 3: Improving departments' use of techniques and practices for managing financial resources; Part 4: The impact of improved management and financial resources. Financial rsource management is relevant to every aspect of a Government department's business. By 2010-11, central government spending is forecast to grow to £678 billion, which represents £11,000 for every person in the UK. The NAO has set out a number of findings and recommendations, including: that the lack of financial skills and awareness amongst non-finance staff remains a significant barrier to improving the management of financial resources across government; that some departments lack a qualified Finance Director at Board level; that senior managers in many departments are not provided with incentives to promote sound management of financial resources; that Departments could do more to improve their forecasting capabilities; that some Departments are not sufficiently well placed to integrate financial and operational performance information; that many Departments do not always ensure the full assessment of the financial implications of policy proposals.

Managing Performance

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134097263
Total Pages : 537 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (34 download)

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Book Synopsis Managing Performance by : Geert Bouckaert

Download or read book Managing Performance written by Geert Bouckaert and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2007-12-20 with total page 537 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, concerns over the effectiveness of public administration have encouraged the widespread measurement and management of ‘performance’. But is performance management an appropriate model for public sector organizations, and has it proved successful? Moreover, how do the principles of performance management affect how public bodies operate, and the way they relate to the wider community? In this important text, the viability of performance management in public sector organizations is systematically assessed across a number of international case studies. The book provides a framework through which models of performance management can be understood in terms of both their impact within a public sector organization, and the effects that have been seen in countries with contrasting administrational contexts. Managing Performance – International Comparisons critically examines the effects of performance management models in the public sector, and assesses their future evolution. It is an important book for all students and researchers with an interest in management, public administration and public policy.

War as Business

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317000498
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (17 download)

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Book Synopsis War as Business by : Armin Krishnan

Download or read book War as Business written by Armin Krishnan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-03 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The privatization of defence assets and the outsourcing of military services from the armed forces to the private sector is an increasing trend. This book approaches the issue of military privatization by linking it to the transformation of the defence industries since the early 1990s, and shows the extent to which many military functions and activities, ranging from military research to military consulting/training to operational support services, have already been outsourced in the US and in Europe. This detailed study provides new and updated information on the ongoing privatization of the defence sector and offers an original theoretical explanation as to why the most modern armed forces throughout the world have come increasingly to rely on private companies for nearly everything they do. Contributing to a better understanding of military privatization and its close connection to technological change, the book explains the complexity of the whole phenomenon and discusses its implications for national and international security.

VAT on E-commerce

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Author :
Publisher : The Stationery Office
ISBN 13 : 0102938024
Total Pages : 48 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (29 download)

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Book Synopsis VAT on E-commerce by : Great Britain: National Audit Office

Download or read book VAT on E-commerce written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-05-26 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The value of internet sales (known as e-commerce) in the UK has more than trebled between 2002 and 2004 to £18.1 billion, with a further surge around Christmas 2005, and this level is expected to rise to nearly £60 billion a year by 2010. It is estimated that in 2005-06 HM Revenue and Customs collected over £1 billion in VAT on e-commerce goods and services. HM Revenue and Customs does not separately identify the exact amount of VAT collected from e-commerce because businesses are required to calculate and pay over VAT for their entire taxable activities, which include both traditional forms of business and e-commerce. In light of these developments, this NAO report examines the implications of the growth in e-commerce for VAT collection and the approach of HM Revenue and Customs to VAT collection. The report finds that HM Revenue and Customs has been alert to emerging areas of risk, such as the failure of e-commerce businesses to register for VAT and the non-payment or underpayment of import VAT on goods ordered over the internet from outside the EU. The report supports the assessment by HM Revenue and Customs that the overall risk to VAT revenue from on-line shopping is currently low, but as activity increases in this fast changing environment, it will be important that the Department builds on its work to keep abreast of possible changes in the patterns and levels of risk to VAT.