20
Accepted
Under IFRS, the Treasury uses a real (inflation-adjusted) discount rate to value long-term obligations such...
Recommendation
Under IFRS, the Treasury uses a real (inflation-adjusted) discount rate to value long-term obligations such as provisions and pensions. While appropriate under accounting rules, this means annual movements in liabilities can reflect economic shifts rather than changes in policy or risk. To aid transparency and comparability between years, we have previously urged HM Treasury to publish both discounted and undiscounted values for all major long-term liabilities.38 HM Treasury produced discounted and undiscounted values only for the nuclear decommissioning provision in 2023–24.39
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation to publish both discounted and undiscounted values for long-term liabilities, with a target implementation date of June 2026, and will expand the 2024-25 WGA to present provisions on a fully undiscounted basis.
Government Response
Accepted
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: June 2026 4.2 The Treasury acknowledges the Committee’s interest in enhancing the transparency of long‑term liabilities reported in the WGA. The Treasury is working closely with the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) to support the inclusion of this information in relation to the Nuclear Decommissioning provision, Clinical Negligence provision, and Pensions liabilities in future WGA publications. This includes separately identifying the impact of the discount rate to enable a clear distinction between changes arising from discounting and those attributable to “other factors”. 4.3 The Treasury will expand the section on undiscounted liabilities in the 2024-25 WGA by presenting provisions on a fully undiscounted basis, as requested by the Committee. In addition, the Treasury will provide an alternative presentation using a flat 2% discount rate applied on a net-of-CPI basis (that is. expressed in real terms, after removing the effect of inflation). 4.4 The purpose of presenting the 0% and 2% position is to illustrate the impact of discount rates, rather than to support the use of undiscounted figures for decision-making. The Treasury will include clear, detailed disclosures outlining the limitations of the undiscounted measures and use it to help explain the purpose of discount rates. 4.5 The Treasury will clearly explain this approach in the accompanying narrative, including the rationale for using a flat 2% rate and illustrating the impact compared with applying the discount rate used for the relevant financial year. The accompanying narrative in the WGA will also continue to set out the key drivers of movements in these liabilities, alongside relevant accounting adjustments, consistent with the disclosures presented in the notes to the financial statements (specifically Note 23). This approach is intended to improve clarity for users and enhance transparency over the factors influencing changes in the government’s long‑term obligations.
Source
Committee
Public Accounts Committee
Report
69th Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2023-24
04 Mar 2026
HC 1243
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age
0.4 yrs
Report published
04 Mar 2026