Public Services & Delivery
132mentions · last 12 months↓
View full analysis →Established under the Liaison Committee, the Public Accounts Committee examines public spending and financial management across government departments and public bodies in the House of Commons. The Committee operates as a select committee, taking oral evidence from accounting officers, ministers, and external witnesses to scrutinise the accounts laid before Parliament and the economy and efficiency of public expenditure. Its inquiries probe both systemic issues in how government manages resources and specific departmental performance. Recent work has focused on governance failings in mega-projects, scrutinising civil-service pension administration at Capita following historical mismanagement, and examining financial resilience across the museum sector at a time of constrained public funding. The Committee has also investigated counter-fraud measures in defence procurement at the Ministry of Defence and reviewed governance and procurement decisions in the Bank of England's RTGS Renewal programme, alongside oversight of government action on employment support and regulatory reform initiatives.
50 sessions published in the last 12 months · busiest week: w/c 6 Jul (3 sessions)
Click any cell in the heatmap to see the sessions held that day and the insights extracted from them.
649 insights
16 Jul 2026
The Committee scrutinised the affordability, sequencing and delivery credibility of the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), with a strong focus on how the MOD will use the new settlement to fund readiness, procurement, housing, nuclear recapitalisation, digital targeting, drones, F-35, Ajax and surface fleet capability. Witnesses stressed that the first four years are funded, while years 5-10 retain flexibility because the government has only committed to 3% of GDP in the next Parliament and 3.5% by 2035. The MOD also said it has identified £10.7 billion of efficiencies, will publish annual DIP updates in July, and is using new governance, NISTA and non-executives to strengthen scrutiny. Several areas drew concern or pushback: uncertainty over post-2029 funding, whether the DIP really adds certainty for industry beyond a normal spending review, the scale and ringfencing of the nuclear budget, housing phasing, F-35 spares and delivery timing, and whether the Department can prove value for money on major programmes.
13 Jul 2026
The Committee scrutinised the Crown Estate’s stewardship of seabed and property assets, focusing on how it balances financial return with environmental and social duties, its offshore wind strategy, and the case for more regional investment and partnerships. Members also pressed the Crown Estate and Royal Household on the transparency and value-for-money of long royal leases, sub-letting arrangements, valuations and rents, while the Household explained the sovereign grant outlook, procurement, and the decision not to renew the royal train lease. The Crown Estate said it is using a marine delivery route map, stakeholder engagement and independent valuation/governance processes to justify decisions, and the Royal Household said it will review valuation policy and continue to apply Treasury rules and the Procurement Act.
09 Jul 2026
The Public Accounts Committee scrutinised the Restoration and Renewal programme for Parliament, focusing on phase 1 scope and costs, temporary accommodation for both Houses, procurement and planning, governance, and the consequences of delay. Witnesses set out a £3 billion cap for phase 1 with about £500 million contingency, argued that early contractor involvement and phased planning could support better cost certainty by 2030, and warned that slippage in House debates would drive substantial additional costs. The panel also confirmed that governance is intended to evolve from the current bicameral, Clerks-led model, with possible future changes to the Act only if Parliament changes the programme’s structure or accountabilities.
08 Jul 2026
The Committees scrutinised the failure of the Capita-run civil service pensions service, focusing on missed rectification milestones, unresolved backlogs, bereavement and ill-health cases, weak portal and call-centre performance, and the Cabinet Office’s surge response. Ministers said they were withholding payments, using default and other contractual levers, and pursuing independent auditors and remedial advisers, while also exploring longer-term insourcing and wider procurement reforms. Capita apologised, accepted the service was in default, and said technology deployment and automation were now improving throughput, with commitments to clear workable backlog cases by 1 September and all current-process cases by 30 September, but significant concerns remained over confidence, redress, and future handling of McCloud cases.
06 Jul 2026
The Committee scrutinised the COVID Counter-Fraud Commissioner’s work on recovering pandemic fraud losses and preventing recurrence. Witnesses said the £10.9 billion estimate covers fraud and error in selected schemes, while large parts of PPE over-ordering and waste sit outside that figure. Treasury and departmental witnesses described a shift toward “test and learn” recovery pilots, better data-sharing, civil enforcement, and stronger preparedness. There was sharp criticism of PPE procurement failures, low recovery outside HMRC, outsourced investigations such as NATIS, and weak local government oversight. Departments said they are now embedding fraud assessments, data-sharing arrangements, and crisis playbooks, but acknowledged that some recoveries will never materialise and that future crises need earlier controls, transparency and clearer accountability.
02 Jul 2026
The Committee scrutinised the British Council’s financial sustainability, its £197 million Government loan, and whether the FCDO/Treasury should treat the Council primarily as a soft-power institution or a commercial business. Witnesses said the new deal will restructure the loan over around 15 years, with interest initially largely covered by trapped cash, while capital repayments are deferred until the Council is back in profit. The FCDO said it has increased grant-in-aid and wants the Council to survive, but also must apply the Subsidy Control Act and protect public value; the Council argued that its commercial income is inseparable from soft power and that the new turnaround plan is more prudent than the previous one, though still risky and dependent on strong governance and digital and operational change.
16 Jul 2026
16 Jul 2026