Auditor General reports on Scottish Government Futures Programme

The Auditor General for Scotland, Caroline Gardner, has issued a report to the Scottish Parliament on matters raised in the audit of the 2013/14 accounts for the Scottish Government.

The report draws Parliament's attention to ongoing risks to achieving the successful delivery and to overall value for money of the Scottish Government's five-year Futures Programme, created to effectively implement Common Agricultural Policy reforms in Scotland.

The report states that the programme has proved significantly more complex and challenging than anticipated. The Scottish Government has recognised this and embarked on actions to strengthen management of the programme, and achievement of critical internal deadlines. If the programme meets regulatory requirements, this would avoid significant financial consequences. However, it will not deliver the full scope and all of the benefits originally planned and will come at increased cost.

The programme has spent £44.9 million to the end of July 2014. Latest budget forecasts show that the entire programme is estimated to cost £137.3 million, an increase of £9.5 million (7.4 per cent) over the business case budget revised in March 2014. It is expected that the business case will be subject to further review, and the Scottish Government will have to accommodate all costs beyond its original forecast within its overall budget.

The Auditor General's report is available at: www.audit-scotland.gov.uk.

Audit Scotland will continue to carry out work on the matters included in the Auditor General's report, and will publish an update on the progress of the Futures Programme by June 2015.