National Audit Office

@nao.org.uk

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We're the NAO, the UK's independent public spending watchdog. We help Parliament hold government to account. Stay updated with our latest work here. https://linktr.ee/nationalauditoffice

National Audit Office 2025-26 Financial Audits • Department for Work & Pensions • HM Revenue & Customs • Department for Science, Innovation & Technology • Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs • Department for Energy Security and Net Zero • Television Licence Fee Trust • DVLA
Michael Jary, Chair of the National Audit Office
Text: £14.5 billion. The public purse is worse off due to the 1996 MoD deal with Annington Property Ltd to sell and lease back military housing.
Head of the NAO, Gareth Davies, said: “Recent measures to begin to restore normal audit assurance for English local authorities are welcome. “This work must be progressed with vigour to ensure timely and high-quality financial reporting for every local body, supporting their accountability to local people and providing more reliable whole of government accounts.”
Text: £184 million in cumulative net losses for the British Council since 2021-21
World map showing FCDO’s network of 280 posts across 180 countries and territories, and countries where the Humanitarian Crisis Response Department (HCRD) supported responses to sudden-onset humanitarian crises, 2021 to 2025. The 19 crises supported were: the Afghanistan crisis, the Tonga volcanic eruption and tsunami, the Ukraine conflict, the Pakistan floods, Cyclone Freddy in Malawi and in Mozambique, the Turkey–Syria earthquake, the Sudan conflict, the Morocco earthquake, the Libya floods, the Israel–Occupied Palestinian Territories crisis, Hurricane Beryl (affecting Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and the Cayman Islands), the Israel–Lebanon conflict, the Marburg virus disease outbreak in Rwanda, the Vanuatu earthquake, conflict escalation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Myanmar earthquake, India–Pakistan escalation and Hurricane Melissa (Haiti and Jamaica).
Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme Eligible claimants: Current and former subpostmasters whose criminal convictions were deemed to have been malicious and were overturned by legislation Expected number of eligible claimants: Around 700 Number of claims received: 490 Number of claims paid: 463 Average wait time for settled claim: 81 working days Average payment per claim: £600,000 Total paid out as of February 2026: £295 million Expected total compensation (across all 4 Horizon Compensation Schemes): £1.8 billion
£377 million The Department for Business and Trade spending over 9 months to keep British Steel's Scunthorpe site operating. April 2025 to January 2026.
Governance issues, interoperability problems, and inconsistent commitments are hampering efforts to keep the government's Shared Services Programme on track. Gareth Davies, Head of the NAO
713000 new homes the intended capacity of current MHCLG programmes to unlock land
Quote from Gareth Davies, Head of the NAO. “Financial management isn't just about compliance; it’s how better results are delivered. This is the hearts and minds part of any change, with a clear tone from the top and a credible narrative."
Quote from Gareth Davies, Head of the NAO. “I believe that a renewed focus on the fundementals of good financial management is needed. Our work shows that without concerted attention, we won't see the better results for taxpayers and service users that they deserve.”
Quote from Gareth Davies, Head of the NAO. “If the unit cost of delivery, and the components making it up, are not well understood, it’s difficult to make sound operational decisions. How do you know where the biggest ‘bang for the buck’ is?”
Quote from Gareth Davies, Head of the NAO. “Not all departments and public bodies yet match the best for timely and high-quality accounts... The situation in local government remains a cautionary tale.”
Picture of Gareth Davies, the head of the National Audit Office. Text: C&AG Annual Speech 2026
The MoD reported to Cabinet Office that it detected, prevented and recovered a small amount of fraud in 2024-25 compared with its estimate for the potential scale of fraud. IMAGE: Edge of a large circle labeled: The MoD's estimate of its potential exposure to fraud - up to £1.5 billion Line connecting to a slightly smaller circle labeled: Alleged fraud £253 million Line connecting to a smaller circle labeled: Prevented fraud £2.1 million Parallel line connecting to a small circle labeled: Detected fraud £2.3 million Line from the 'detected fraud' circle connecting to a very small circle labeled: Recovered fraud £0.3 million. Source: National Audit Office review of MoD Audit Committee papers and Cabinet Office data on the MoD's counter-fraud returns
64% of regulators expect innovation to be the greatest determinant of economic growth Regulators surveyed by the National Audit Office
"Defra and the regulators are working to improve how they regulate, including in response to recent major reviews. Success will depend on taking a sufficiently strategic approach and sticking to the course set." Gareth Davies, Comptroller & Auditor General, National Audit Office
2024-25 Financial Audits: Department for Health & Social Care
2024-25 Financial Audit: Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
£3 billion Cost of the NS&I digital transformation programme, up from £1.7 billion in 2020 Estimated total costs including running costs
A bar chart titled "36 police forces took from their financial reserves in 2024-25". 6 police forces (Hampshire, Cleveland, Bedfordshire, Surrey, Kent, and Essex) added to their reserves. Wiltshire saw no change. The other 36 police forces drew from their reserves; Lincolnshire the most, at over £6m
2024-25 Financial Audits • Cabinet Office • Ministry of Justice • Department for Culture, Media & Sport
The cost of providing home to school transport for children with special needs has doubled since 2015-16. Image of two children stood waiting for a bus.
Graph: The cost of providing home to school transport for children with special needs has doubled since 2015-16. Source: National Audit Office, 2023-24 prices. 5 lines covering SEND & mainstream transport for children & young people. SEND u/16 line goes from cf£800m in 2015-16 to cf£1600m in 23-24.
Bar graph: The real cost of settling negligence claims has more than tripled in the past two decades. Source: National Audit Office analysis of NHS Resolution data. The chart shows the Settled claim cost increasing from just over £1billion in 2006-07 to £4.7bn in 17-18, and just under £4bn in 24-25
Encourage positive behaviours Improve reporting by integrating finance into day-to-day operations Support proactive management of long-term reporting Communicate clear and consistent messages that connect reporting to goals Encourage and reward innovation
2024-25 Financial Audits Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Department for Business and Trade
2024-25 Financial Audits • HM Treasury • Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) • Department for Transport • Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office • Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government National Audit Office
2024-25 Financial Audits BBC Group Accounts Television Licence Fee Trust Statement HMRC: Resource Accounts - Qualified Department for Education Whole of Government Accounts 2023-24 - Disclaimed Home Office