#publicaccounts

The Guardian | Ditched government projects lost taxpayer £6.6bn last year, watchdog says by Tom Knowles AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information. The public accounts committee warned that £6.6 billion of taxpayer money was written off in 2024‑25 after government departments cancelled projects or retired assets, citing the Rwanda deportation scheme, a planned road tunnel under Stonehenge and other initiatives as prime examples of waste. The Ministry of Defence recorded the biggest loss at £1.6 billion, while the Home Office and Department for Transport lost £290 million and £472 million respectively. The report also highlighted a growing £73.4 billion liability in various compensation schemes and persistent fraud, noting £9.3 billion in over‑payments by the Department for Work and Pensions, and called for stricter value‑for‑money scrutiny and action to curb waste and fraud. Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/22/ditched-government-projects-lost-taxpayer-billions-watchdog #AuditOffice #CliveBetts #Treasury #PublicAccounts #taxandspending

BBC News | Why illegal children's homes are being paid up to £2m per child by councils AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information. Illegal children’s homes—unregistered, uninspected facilities that are nonetheless being funded by local councils—are costing up to £2 million per child a year, with some placements paying £13,000 a week for a single teenager. Investigations reveal squalid conditions, inadequate staffing and the use of makeshift premises such as caravans, narrowboats and ordinary houses, yet councils continue to place vulnerable youths there because a shortage of specialist, legally‑registered homes leaves them with no alternatives for children with complex needs. Despite a 2021 ban on under‑16s in unregulated homes, around 800 children are still housed illegally, a figure driven by a booming private‑sector market, profiteering providers, and a fragmented regulatory system that has failed to enforce the ban. The resulting taxpayer waste diverts funds from early‑intervention services, prompting calls for stricter regulation, more publicly‑run homes, and a shift toward non‑profit providers to protect the most vulnerable children. Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy2vxp48y8o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss #BBC #PublicAccounts #ChildrensWellbeing #Englishcouncils #privateequity

News Headlines | NTMA still to recover €2.5m stolen in phishing attack AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information. The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has recovered €2.5 million of the €5 million lost in a voice‑phishing scam that targeted a fake invoice from an Ireland Strategic Investment Fund investee, and will tell the Public Accounts Committee that its IT systems were never compromised. An independent Deloitte forensic review, now completed, confirmed the breach was limited to the fraudulent payment request and led to a set of recommended safeguards, which the agency has fully implemented. Chief Executive Frank O’Connor will also update the committee on the national debt, now around €200 billion and projected to approach €250 billion by the 2030s, stressing that while low‑interest‑rate conditions have helped lower borrowing costs, future debt servicing will become more costly as rates rise and low‑cost debt matures. The NTMA continues efforts to recover the remaining €2.5 million. Read more: https://www.rte.ie/news/2026/0514/1573230-ntma-still-to-recover-2-5m-stolen-in-phishing-attack/ #NTMA #FrankOConnor #Deloitte #PublicAccounts #TreasuryManagement #FrankOConnor