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.

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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."

– Gareth Davies, Comptroller & Auditor General and head of the NAO

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