Our Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 shares our work,
performance and impact. It provides a comprehensive and clear
account of what we achieved and how we used our resources in the
last year of our 2020-2025 strategy. It also introduces our new
strategy for 2025-2030.
Our work in numbers
-
414 audit certifications
-
60 value for money and wider assurance
reports published
-
8 good practice guides and 7
lessons learned reports addressing cross-government challenges
-
22 departmental overviews
-
37 Committee of Public Accounts sessions
supported
- Our work was referenced on
average 6.1 times per Parliament
sitting day
Highlights
- 93% of our recommendations to government were accepted or
partially accepted
- 87% of MPs said we were effective at supporting Parliament to
hold government to account and scrutinise public services
- 73% of senior officials in the bodies we audit agreed that
our work leads to better outcomes
- 100% of our externally reviewed financial audits met required
standards
Our financial impact and wider impact
We identified financial impacts totalling £5.3 billion in 2024.
For every £1 spent we delivered an impact of £53 through either
reduced costs, improved service delivery or other benefits to
people.
An example of financial impact we have made (£23 million) comes
from our report Improving Broadband and the
promotion of social tariffs (cheaper broadband and phone package
offered to those claiming means-tested benefits) by the
department responsible. The number of households claiming a fixed
broadband social tariff increased from 55,000 in January 2022 to
an estimated 491,000 in December 2024, saving these consumers an
average of £224 per year.
Our investigation into HM
Passport Office and the management of passport applications
following the COVID-19 pandemic led to the better management of
customer demand. The report was used to make the case to Home
Office to develop its management information, enabling ‘live'
analysis of passport applications and their progress. In the
first six months of 2024, it processed 99.8% of applications
where no further information was required in three weeks.
Our report into the risks of
reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in school
buildings gained a great deal of publicity and resulted in
parliamentary debate and scrutiny around school building safety.
Prior to the report, the Department for Education (DfE) had
missing information from schools. Five months after our report,
DfE received information for all those schools it assessed to be
at greatest risk and used this to target visits. DfE has since
addressed critical RAAC safety concerns in the 237 schools and
colleges confirmed as having RAAC.
"We know, perhaps better than most, the enormous pressures on
public services and the many challenges the government faces. But
we're determined to play our part in helping to find solutions,
and we believe we can do that even more effectively by aligning
our activity to have greater impact."
– Fiona Reynolds, Chair, National Audit Office
"The NAO plays a vital role in our democracy, helping Parliament
hold government to account for public spending and supporting
improvement in value for money. We are determined to play this
role with maximum impact for the benefit of taxpayers and service
users."
– , Comptroller & Auditor
General and head of the NAO
