Central government reports 2004/05

21 January 2005 for the Auditor General

The Scottish Prison Service should assess more closely whether its skills courses and behavioural programmes for prisoners are successful in reducing re-offending rates.

3 November 2004 for the Auditor General / Accounts Commission

This report says that a backlog of road maintenance has been building up for around ten years; 13% of the network (7,000 km) is now in need of repair. Councils and the Scottish Executive estimate that over £1.7 billion needs to be spent to bring our roads up to standard. This report concludes that greater priority needs to be given to tackling the backlog.

30 September 2004 for the Auditor General

This report finds that the Scottish Prison Service followed the rules when handling the tender process for prisoner escort and court custody services in Scotland. The report also found that the SPS is actively monitoring the performance of Reliance, the successful bidder.

29 June 2004 for the Auditor General

This follow-up report looks at the overall progress of the Holyrood building project since 2000 (when our first report was published), including why estimated costs have risen further and why there has been additional slippage.

17 June 2004 for the Auditor General

This report says that Scottish Enterprise needs to do more to show that it is achieving value for money in providing some £40 million of support to businesses with growth potential.

10 June 2004 for the Auditor General / Accounts Commission

This follow-up report says Local Economic Forums (LEFs) have made good progress towards their goal of eliminating overlap and duplication in the support provided by the public sector to local businesses. However, it suggests the Scottish Executive reviews whether LEFs should continue in their current form, given the new arrangements for Community Planning.