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Department's £850 million ARR cost estimate lacks sufficient evidence for NAO audit assurance.

Conclusion
At the time of publication of the NAO’s report, the Department had not provided the NAO with enough evidence to have confidence in the completeness and accuracy of the Department’s cost estimates.62 The Department estimates the total cost of the ARR to be £850 million, of which about £400 million has been spent so far, with £450 million to come. The Department said that it could, in anticipation of the super-injunction being lifted and the resulting parliamentary scrutiny, have accounted for the costs of the ARR separately.63 The Department told us that the overall cost of the ARAP scheme, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) run by the Home Office and the ARR scheme could be over £5 billion.64 The Department said it was possible that it would be able to provide a more detailed breakdown that would allow the C&AG to give us more assurance about costs. The C&AG expects to produce his next report on Afghan resettlement in the first part of next year.65
Government Response

A response document is linked to this report, dated 19 January 2026. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document.

Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age 0.8 yr
Report published 14 Nov 2025