Audit Office presses Policing Board on report criticism

http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-northern-ireland-13536042

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The Audit Office has said the Policing Board must move quickly to respond to a critical report on how it functions.

An independent report last year said the board lacked strategic direction and did not offer value for money.

The Audit Office has called for an action plan to respond to those criticisms and a review of how the board assesses PSNI performance.

A spokesperson for the board said it "takes its continuous improvement responsibilities seriously".

The newly constituted board will meet for the first time next week and will consider the Audit Office's concerns.

The board commissioned the independent consultant's report in February 2010.

It spoke of strategic drift, insufficient focus on efficiency and a culture that was slow to seek out or embrace opportunities for organisational change.

It also said that there was little evidence of teamwork among senior managers, and that the way in which it had operated had resulted in "a lack of corporate responsibility, common vision, ambition, and barriers to organisational progress".

It did commend the board for "a good record of success in complex political and social circumstances".