Annual Reports

OFT: The Office of Fair Trading has published its Annual Report 2007-08, alongside its Positive Impact Report which shows that the OFT is saving consumers around £326m per year. The OFT has a target of delivering financial benefits to consumers of at least five times its cost to the taxpayer and the report reveals that the OFT has exceeded this and is currently delivering benefits of six times its annual budget to consumers.
Press release ~ Annual Report and Resource Accounts 2007-08 ~ Positive Impact Report 07/08
MoD: The Ministry of Defence's Annual Report and Accounts 2007/2008 have been published and they state that the ‘Armed Forces are achieving their policy & military objectives and met the Public Service Agreement target for Operations’.
In order to achieve operational success, the department has had to take a level of risk against other defence objectives, including:
* The Armed Forces consistently and reliably deployed & sustained forces at immediate readiness for current operations. However, this meant it was impossible for them to be ready at the same time for the full range of potential contingent operations in planning assumptions.
* The continuing high operational tempo has meant that the Army and the RAF did not meet individual separate service or unit harmony guidelines. The Service Personnel Plan continues to make improvement in this area.
Press release ~ MoD's Annual Report and Accounts 2007/2008 ~ Unit harmony guidelines ~ BMJ: Mental health consequences of overstretch in the UK armed forces: first phase of a cohort study ~ Ministry of Defence: Leaving the Services~ Manpower shortage as pressures of war drive troops to quit Forces - Times Online
Monitor: Monitor, the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts, comments on the impact of foundation trust status in its Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08, saying that Foundation Trust status has begun to change the attitudes, focus and priorities of NHS boards.

The report outlines Monitor’s progress in its 3 core areas of activity:
* the operation of a proportionate, risk based regulatory regime for NHS foundation trusts
* assessing applicants for NHS foundation trust status
* developing the capabilities of NHS foundation trusts (through programmes such as the introduction and promotion of service line management)
Press release ~ Monitor’s Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08
YF: Figures released by Government in conjunction with the Yorkshire Forward Annual Report and Accounts, show that Yorkshire Forward has again exceeded its annual targets for growing Yorkshire & Humber’s economy. Culminating in the launch of the new Business Link Yorkshire in April 2008, the past year saw Yorkshire Forward help to create 1,231 new businesses in the region and support 29,065 businesses in improving their performance, smashing the target set of 23,575.
Press release ~ Yorkshire Forward Annual Report and Accounts 2007/08 ~ Yorkshire Forward ~ Business Link Yorkshire
National Archives: The Office of Public Sector Information has published the United Kingdom Report on the Re-Use of Public Sector Information 2008. This annual report marks the third anniversary of the UK's implementation of the European Directive on the re-use of public sector information. The report also coincides with the European Commission's review of the implementation of the Directive and will feed into the review process.
The European Commission has praised the UK for its commitment to public sector information, much of which has been achieved through OPSI´s central policy role. The UK is seen as an exemplar and leader in public sector information across Europe.
Press release ~ United Kingdom Report on the Re-Use of Public Sector Information 2008 ~ Office of Public Sector Information ~ OFT's market study report on the Commercial Use of Public Information (CUPI) ~ Government's initial substantive response ~ Information Asset Register ~ Information Fair Trader Scheme ~ Power of Information ~ Steinberg and Mayo's review ~ Public Sector Information ~ SPIN: Society of Public Information Networks ~ Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information (APPSI) ~ Models of Public Sector Information Provision via Trading Funds ~ Public Sector Information - Europa - Information Society
FSCS: The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) improved its service to consumers while cutting its costs during 2007/08, according to its latest annual report. At the same time, the Scheme passed the billion pound mark in compensation paid to consumers.

The Scheme ended the year achieving its core target of completing 90% of new claims within 6 months of receiving an application for compensation. It bettered this considerably in some areas, such as credit union claims, where it completed more than 96% of claims within two weeks, according to the report.
Press release ~ Annual Report and Accounts: 2007/08
Spotlight on women at Serco – Anita’s story