Several public bodies were criticised yesterday for failing to take sufficient action to ensure they deliver value for money, with the continuation of backlogs identified as a key concern. Martin Walland John Downesreport.
Comptroller and Auditor General John Purcell found that a number of public bodies had made only limited progress since he issued value-for-money reports about them between 1997 and 2000. He also said there was a general need for a "stronger and more measurable" set of targets for improvement in the next phase of modernisation.
The report examined the response of State bodies to the findings of 17 reports issued by his office between 1997 and 2000, It found that in 12 cases there had been an excellent or reasonable response to the concerns raised in previous reports, but in five cases only limited progress was made.
Among the areas singled out for praise were tax collection, local development initiatives and training and development in the Civil Service. The five areas found to have made limited progress were inland fisheries; GP-prescribing practices; emergency ambulance services, driver-testing services and fine collection.
In relation to the collection of fines, it found that the time it takes between detection of an offence and a court hearing had increased from 37 weeks in 1998 to 49 weeks in 2005.While there was an improvement in collecting "on the spot" fines for parking and disc display violations between 1998 and 2005, the collection of speeding fines decreased by 4 per cent.
The failure to introduce fundamental change in the inland fisheries area also attracted criticism. The report notes previous concerns about the duplication of activities there. The report highlights some improvements in the driver testing service, but says a "significant variation" in pass rates remains.
It also reveals that the Department of Health told Mr Purcell that new data will be available in relation to the accurate measurement of response times for ambulances by the end of this year.
On drug prescribing, it says the department had said a review of the indicative drug target savings scheme had commenced.
This will "contribute to a wider examination of prescribing incentivisation in the context of the overall reform of the GMS and community drugs schemes, and the requirement for accountability and appropriate governance arrangements identified in the context of the health reform process," the report states.
Organisational deficiencies, failures to achieve savings targets and "less than optimum" management of assets all contributed to "disappointing" progress in addressing economic issues in the public service. Where investment has been made in new technologies, this has led to strong efficiency gains, but the need for proper project management remains, the report notes.
Overall, it calls for a review of the extent to which the modernisation programme is leading to better value in the form of improved services or more efficient processes. It says the public sector modernisation programme has been successful in implementing strategic planning, human resource management and programme evaluation.
"But there is a general absence of systems to deliver improved effectiveness that can be measured and reported upon," it states. "The timeliness of service delivery and the continuation of backlogs have been persistent issues in several of the areas examined, even though between seven to nine years have elapsed since the completion of my reviews."
Mr Purcell praises the impact the partnership process had on attempts to monitor the "actual achievement of progress", but he warns it is "not a substitute for a proper monitoring and evaluation system at the level of each modernisation initiative".