UK Inquiry Tracker

Costs of clinical negligence

Public Accounts Committee Open Inquiry

Opened: 10 Jul 2025 Parliament page

The PAC in its 2025 scrutiny the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) annual report and accounts 2023-24 called on government to reduce tragic incidences of patient harm. The PAC found it unacceptable that DHSC had yet to develop a plan to deal with the cost of clinical negligence … Read more The PAC in its 2025 scrutiny the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) annual report and accounts 2023-24 called on government to reduce tragic incidences of patient harm. The PAC found it unacceptable that DHSC had yet to develop a plan to deal with the cost of clinical negligence claims, with so much taxpayers’ money being spent on legal fees. Its report found that £58.2bn had been set aside to cover the potential cost of clinical negligence events in the 2023-24 accounts – the second largest liability across government after nuclear decommissioning. 19% of money awarded to claimants in 2023-24 went to their lawyers (£536m of the total £2.8bn paid out that year), on top of the fees payable for the Government Legal Team. The PAC last scrutinised the topic of clinical negligence in 2017 , saying at the time that bold action was required to address the impact of claims on resources available for frontline care and patients. Its report urged government at the time to end its complacency over the cost of clinical negligence, with the annual amount paid out having quadrupled over the preceding decade from £0.4 billion in 2006–07 to £1.6 billion in 2016–17. The National Audit Office reports on clinical negligence costs in 2025, with an investigation setting out the scale and drivers of changes to the value of long-term liabilities for clinical negligence claims and associated in-year payments, and likely future projections. Following the NAO’s report, the PAC will take evidence from senior DHSC and NHS officials . Likely topics will include what is being done to reduce patient harm and improve patient safety across the NHS, and the effective management of costs, including the reduction of legal fees. If you have evidence on these issues, please submit here by 23:59 on Thursday 6 November 2025. Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. You can request anonymity or confidentiality when you send evidence, but it is the Committee which decides what information to publish and how. It may treat submissions confidentially, even where you have not requested this. Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues . Show less

18 Recommendations

9 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

4 Letters

1 Event

Activity timeline 8 events

21 May
2026

Correspondence

Letter to the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Health and Social Care relating to Cost of clinical negligence, 21 May 2026

7 Apr
2026

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Sity-fourth report from Session 2024-26

30 Jan
2026

Report published

64th Report - Costs of clinical negligence

12 Jan
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Chief Financial Officer at NHS England relating to the Committee’s evidence session into Costs of Clinical Negligence on 20…

15 Dec
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Health and Social Care relating to the Committee’s evidence session on 20 Novembe…

15 Dec
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Health and Social Care relating to the DHSC-NHSE Transformation programme, 11 Dec…

20 Nov
2025

Oral evidence

Oral evidence session

20 Nov
2025

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster

Committee event

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

20 Nov 2025

View on parliament.uk

Elizabeth O'Mahony · Department of Health and Social Care Helen Vernon · NHS Resolution Professor Aidan Fowler · NHS England Samantha Jones · Department of Health and Social Care

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
64th Report - Costs of clinical negligence	HC 1234	30 Jan 2026	27	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 results

7 Conclusion Acknowledged

64th Report - Costs of clinical ne…

Clinical negligence costs have soared and are projected to rise further.

Clinical negligence is the second largest provision on the government balance sheet after nuclear decommissioning. Over the period 2006–07 to 2024–25, the total provision for clinical negligence increased by £45.6 billion in real terms, from £14.4 billion at 31 March … Read more

Government Response

The government acknowledges the rising cost of clinical negligence and its impact on NHS finances, and will write to the Committee by Autumn 2026 to set out the case for change and its workplan.

HM Treasury

View details

8 Conclusion Acknowledged

64th Report - Costs of clinical ne…

High-value maternity brain injury claims drive significant clinical negligence costs.

NHS Resolution told us that clinical negligence is putting pressure on NHS budgets and is a significant cost to the public purse. The Department told us the reasons for the rising costs were complex. NHS Resolution explained that the increasing … Read more

Government Response

The government will write to the Committee by Autumn 2026 to set out the case for change regarding rising clinical negligence costs and its workplan, including key milestones and likely areas of focus for reform.

HM Treasury

View details

Government Response AI assessment · 27 of 18 classified

Accepted 10

Accepted in Part 2

Acknowledged 2

Deferred 10

Not Addressed 1

Rejected 2

Total 18 recs + 9 conclusions

Correspondence 4 letters

21 May 2026 From committee Letter to the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Health and Social Care relating to Cost of clinical negligence, 21 May 2026

Parliament page

12 Jan 2026 To committee Letter from the Chief Financial Officer at NHS England relating to the Committee’s evidence session into Costs of Clinical Negligence on 20 November 2025, 06 January 2026

Parliament page

15 Dec 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Health and Social Care relating to the Committee’s evidence session on 20 November on Costs of clinical negligence, 04 December 2025

Parliament page

15 Dec 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Health and Social Care relating to the DHSC-NHSE Transformation programme, 11 December 2025

Parliament page