There are indications that the Programme may have generated cost savings and increased income to those businesses that participated and had some effect in reducing business waste, but it is not possible to conclude whether the £240 million of expenditure delivered value for money because:
• The Department did not have comprehensive and timely data to target resources effectively and did not establish specific, quantified objectives for the Programme.
• Our survey found low awareness amongst businesses of the support available through the Programme. Given that businesses had to apply for assistance it is reasonable to suppose that the Programme's initiatives were insufficiently targeted on the areas of greatest impact. The Department does not accept that awareness was low, however, as the take-up was broadly comparable to another similar scheme.
• As no Evaluation of the Programme has yet taken place, the Department has not been able to establish sufficiently which initiatives had the greatest impact and thus warrant ongoing funding.