Public spending watchdog says it's hard to tell whether 39 partnerships are wasting money
Local partnerships set up to administer the £2bn New Deal for Communities programme have been severely criticised by the National Audit Office.

A report published by the spending watchdog on Wednesday castigated the NDC partnerships for their lack of organisation and for failing to implement "basic operating conditions" vital to success.

It follows a number of high-profile problems at NDC partnerships such as Aston, Nottingham and Leicester (HT 13 June 2003, page 20; 15 August 2003, page 10).

The report says many partnerships have failed to set clear objectives, making it difficult to tell whether money is being well spent.

The partnerships' weaknesses also led to project delays and bred cynicism among communities and potential partners, it said.

Edward Leigh, chairman of the cross-party Public Accounts Committee, said in a statement: "Because the [ODPM] didn't think to introduce standard reporting systems, two or three years into the programme they don't have a clear idea how much money has been spent on worklessness, health, housing, crime reduction or education.

It boggles the mind that the ODPM could have forgotten something so basic

Edward Leigh, Public Accounts Committee

"It boggles the mind that in designing the programme they could have forgotten something so basic."

Robin Ryde, the report's author and audit manager for the National Audit Office, said it was uncertain whether the 39 10-year schemes – some of which began in 1999, others in 2000 – would have a long-term positive impact.

But he admitted that the NDC partnerships had been hamstrung by the lack of time.

"The expectation from the ODPM of the speed with which they could start to deliver was over-optimistic," he said. "In a few years' time we'll know if it was a mistake. It could still prove to be the right solution – but we can't tell at this stage."