The National Audit Office (NAO) has criticised Defra for failing to improve its financial management. In a report released on Friday, the NAO said Defra’s progress since its 2008 report has been too slow, especially in the light of resources spent on improvements.

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Although it acknowledged that progress has been made in the department’s running, the NAO said it had expected faster progress in improving performance; the financial body said it "cannot yet conclude that the department is achieving value for money in its financial management activity."

Despite improvements in management reporting and forecasting, and hiring more permanent, qualified finance staff, Defra’s financial capabilities were still criticised by the NAO. Amyas Morse, the office’s comptroller and auditor general, said, "Defra has made progress in its financial management. However, there is more to do and progress needs to speed up. The Department should grasp the opportunity of its recently-launched change programme to instil good financial management across its business and deliver better value for money."

This is the second unfavourable review Defra has received from the NAO in a short time. In July, NAO head Morse berated Defra’s managing of its £39.3 million geographic information strategy. Morse said, "Given the importance of geographic information to the activities of Defra, it is surprising how little it knows about whether its strategy is achieving value for money.

"The Department’s geographic information systems have developed significantly, but they should serve the business needs of the Department much more coherently if good public value is to be demonstrated."

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