Audits

The Supreme Audit Office examined the Ministry of the Interior’s plan to develop an information system (eSeL) for the electronic drafting and publication of legal regulations in the Czech Republic over the course of three years – from 2017 to 2020. The auditors found that the MoI extended the develo...

The state spent a total of CZK 36.2 billion on land consolidation between the years 1991 and 2023. By the end of 2023, comprehensive land consolidation had been completed in one quarter of the 12,232 cadastral territories. 9,186 cadastral territories have not yet been completed. This was revealed by...

Between the years 2014 and 2023, a state and EU financial aid amounting to CZK 9.5 billion was provided to municipalities for the construction and reconstruction of pavements and footpaths. The main aim was to make these walkways safer and more barrier-free. During the audit, the Supreme Audit Offic...

The Ministry of the Interior (MoI) purchased equipment worth CZK 2.4 billion between 2018 and 2022 without taking into account the needs of police officers. The result was surplus supplies on the one hand and a shortage of equipment on the other. For example, there are women's jackets in the MoI war...

The audit assessed the identification, outreach and rehabilitation efforts targeting young people not in employment, education or training (NEET youth). There are a few risk indicators for the identification, but there are no clear-cut indicators for NEET status. There are regional differences in ou...

In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, companies were given – as a crisis measure – the opportunity to defer 12 months of tax payments for up to five years. While the support has had several positive effects, it will be more than SEK 7 billion more costly than expected. In addition, it has had no...

The audit examined whether the ministries have appropriately justified the determination of the amount of deferrable appropriations in their budget proposals and whether the appropriations carried over from previous years have been taken into account in the preparation of budget proposals. The audit...

The NAO has statutory responsibilities for auditing HMRC’s collection of Scottish income tax. The Scottish Parliament has set different income tax bands and rates in Scotland from the rest of the UK. In 2018-19 it introduced a five-band system, which continued until 2023-24. In 2023-24, Scottish tax...

The government has extensive property holdings, which it uses to deliver services to the public and support its operations. Government property ranges from hospitals to jobcentres, schools, courts, prisons, museums, research facilities, offices and warehouses. Property maintenance is important so th...

The NAO has statutory responsibilities for auditing HMRC’s collection of Welsh income tax. The Wales Act 2014 gave the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) power to determine the rates (excluding the personal allowance) paid by Welsh taxpayers on all non-savings, non-dividend income, from 6 April 2017.Since Ap...

Cyber attack is one of the most serious risks to the UK and the government’s resilience. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted that the UK needed to strengthen its national resilience and prepare for future emergencies. The government defines cyber resilience as “the ability of an organisation to mainta...

Over one in four women are estimated to be victims of sexual assault or attempted assault in their lifetime, and one in 12 women are victims of VAWG each year, although the actual number is likely to be much higher. The National Police Chiefs’ Council reported that, in 2022-23, 20% of all police-rec...

St Helena, together with Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha, form one of the UK’s 14 overseas territories. St Helena is self-governing and autonomous as set out in its constitution. The UK government’s long-standing policy is to meet the reasonable assistance needs of the UK’s ...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is common around the world, driven in part by misuse and overuse of antimicrobials. This is a major public health concern because it means antibiotics and other antimicrobials may be ineffective, both today and increasingly in the future. For some years, the World Heal...

The central government is doing too little to ensure that municipal water and wastewater treatment facilities are managed and maintained, according to the Swedish National Audit Office’s audit.

Dropping out from higher education programmes in shortage occupations often stems from a lack of prior knowledge and misaligned expectations (misguided choices). The Swedish National Audit Office recommends extending careers advisory services and introducing requirements for students who drop out to...

Digital payments – the electronic exchange of funds, often through mobile devices – contribute to economic growth. In 2023 alone, digital payments for retail sales in the EU exceeded €1 trillion. We examined the EU’s approach to digital payments, and in particular whether the regulatory framework se...

Air and noise pollution can harm our health, particularly in urban areas, where most EU citizens live. We checked how the selected cities implement the EU rules designed to better protect our health. We found that although air quality is improving, air quality standards either are not always met, or...

Geo-blocking limits consumer access and hinders the EU digital single market by restricting access to online services across member states. The 2018 Geo-blocking Regulation aimed to address such discrimination based on nationality or residence. We assessed the effect of the Regulation and actions ta...

This audit examined the progress made regarding the EU policy on military mobility, focusing on the EU’s second Action Plan (2.0) of November 2022. The plan was developed under time pressure, amid Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Overall, we conclude that Action Plan 2.0 was not built on ...