19
Incomplete and inconsistent fee disclosures hinder parliamentary and Treasury oversight of departments.
Recommendation
Poor reporting limits the Treasury and Parliament’s ability to monitor fees and hold departments to account. The NAO found that none of the seven services it examined complied fully with all of the Treasury’s disclosure requirements in their respective 2023-24 annual report and accounts.37 Accounting officers are responsible for ensuring fees are appropriately set and transparently reported, yet incomplete and inconsistent disclosures mean there is no clear picture of fee-setting across government. This weakens scrutiny and allows significant surpluses or deficits 32 Qq 11,28 33 Q 43 34 Letter from HM Treasury’s Permanent Secretary, 24 November 2025 35 Qq 11-15 36 Qq 28, 29; C&AG’s Report, Figure 13 37 C&AG’s Report, para 2.27 13 to build up before corrective action is taken. The Treasury told us that greater consistency and standardisation in reporting will help improve its understanding of departmental performance and better support accounting officers in fulfilling their responsibilities.38
Government Response
A response document is linked to this report, dated 1 April 2026. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document.
Source
Committee
Public Accounts Committee
Report
57th Report - Government services: Generating income
10 Dec 2025
HC 890
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age
0.8 yr
Report published
10 Dec 2025