Dear list members
You may be interested in the following.
The National Audit Office (NAO), the independent body that reports to
Parliament on how public money is spent, reported in 2002 on Tackling
pensioner poverty: encouraging take-up of entitlements
(http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/02-03/020337.pdf). Key
recommendations arising from the report and subsequent hearing of the
Public Accounts Committee focused on:
setting targets for improving take-up rates;
simplifying processes and reducing duplication in information
collection;
communicating more effectively with pensioners; and
working with other organisations to promote benefit take-up in cost-
effective ways.
In 2005-06 we intend to conduct a follow-up study to assess the extent to
which these recommendations have been implemented and what progress has
been made in encouraging take-up amongst pensioners. The study would result
in a further report to Parliament and make recommendations to the
Department for Work and Pensions. Note that it is not in the NAOs remit to
make judgments and recommendations on the merits of Government policy
objectives. To prepare for this work, we are inviting expressions of
interest in a short review of the recent relevant research.
Scope of the review
We envisage that the review would build on our 2002 work and would focus
mainly on findings which have emerged since, or were not referenced in our
previous report. We are particularly interested in material on:
the impact of local-level interventions to encourage take-up,
including health impacts
the influence of socio-economic factors and evidence of economic
impacts and
coverage specific to Pension Credit, which has been introduced
since our last report.
The review should cover, where appropriate, both published and grey
literature and qualitative as well as quantitative studies. We would
expect bids in the region of £5-10,000.
The maximum length for the literature review is 5,000 words, which should
be fully referenced and available in Microsoft Word format.
Timetable
We would like to receive expressions of interest by 4 February 2005, along
with an outline of the proposed approach (500 words maximum), and proposed
cost. We will award a contract based on the proposals received shortly
after 4 February. The successful applicant will be required to submit a
draft report by 18 March 2005. The possibility of earlier completion would
be looked upon favourably in the selection process.
Proposals can be sent by post to National Audit Office, Room A687, 157-197
Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, London, SW1W 9SP; or submitted by email.
NAO contacts
For any further information about this work, please contact:
Kpakpo Brown 020 7798 7598 [log in to unmask]
Rebecca Sidell Dawson 020 7798 7800 [log in to unmask]
To find out more about the role of the National Audit Office, please visit
our website: www.nao.org.uk
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