The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a report outlining systemic issues that hinder developer contributions from effectively delivering affordable housing and infrastructure to local communities. The report reveals that at least 17,000 affordable housing units provided through section 106 agreements remain unsold, while the government's S106 Affordable Homes Clearing Service records only around 800 unsold homes.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a report highlighting the first-ever failure by the National Audit Office to sign off the Whole of Government Accounts 2022-2023. Only 10% of 426 English local authorities submitted reliable data, with 187 failing to submit entirely, leading to £34.4bn overstatement in net income and £31.7bn in net debt. The report questions the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's ability to monitor council finances effectively, despite new legislation introducing backstop deadlines and establishing a Local Audit Office.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a report warning that adult hospices in England face a growing financial crisis, with several providers—including Marie Curie and Sue Ryder—already reducing essential services, announcing staff redundancies and reporting significant financial deficits at a time of rising demand for palliative and end‑of‑life care. The report highlights that the sector is approaching a funding cliff‑edge from April, while the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England continue to rely on integrated care boards (ICBs)—themselves undergoing reorganisation and staff reductions—to sustain service levels despite unclear funding and limited data collection. PAC cautions that slow progress on the Modern Service Framework and lack of national intervention risk further service withdrawal, undermining hospice contributions to the wider NHS and leaving more people receiving costly hospital‑based end‑of‑life care.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a report examining the government's use of private finance for infrastructure projects. The report identifies systemic issues in infrastructure financing following the creation of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA). Key concerns include the need for a more detailed central pipeline, failure to identify which financing models provide value for money, poor risk allocation between the public and private sector, skills shortages and issues relating to inadequate contract management. The report notes previous government mistakes in the use of private finance, including inefficient procurement processes, poorly drafted contracts, and poor risk pricing, transfer and management, which can have significant consequences where a contractor fails (eg Carillion). The Treasury and NISTA are said to be committed to acting on lessons learned. The report makes six recommendations which include pipeline improvements to support the ten year infrastructure strategy, evaluation of financing models, creation of a central database on private finance for public infrastructure, plans to build specialist skills, development of an infrastructure financing toolkit to support risk allocation and management, plus improvements to central support for public bodies managing privately financed assets.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a report calling on HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office to facilitate and improve cross-government working and learn from hinderances. PAC has noted that cross-government working can allow outcomes to be delivered more effectively and deliver better value for money. The report includes PAC's conclusions and recommendations following its cross-government inquiry, setting up and delivering cross-government working and improving the delivery of cross-government working.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a report examining police productivity in England and Wales and found that the Home Office’s historic light-touch oversight has left government without the data, transparency or understanding needed to manage rising financial risk and declining productivity in policing, with direct implications for frontline services. PAC concluded that police forces are increasingly reliant on reserves and borrowing, having drawn down £276m in 2024–25 and funded the majority of capital spending through debt, while government lacks a coherent, up-to-date picture of financial resilience or performance because data are fragmented, inconsistent and poorly shared.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a report on the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) 2023–24, concluding that persistent missing and unaudited data continue to undermine the reliability of the accounts and have resulted in a disclaimed audit opinion for the second consecutive year. The PAC reports that HM Treasury’s production of the WGA remains compromised by extensive missing and unaudited data, predominantly from English local authorities, and warns that local government reorganisation may further impede efforts to address systemic weaknesses in local audit and financial reporting. Despite statutory deadlines intended to reduce audit backlogs, the volume of unaudited submissions continues to increase, limiting the reliability of the WGA. The PAC also notes poor data submission from Scottish bodies and the complete omission of the academies sector due to misaligned reporting dates, both of which hinder comprehensive scrutiny of public spending across the UK.

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) Chair, William Wragg, has written to the lead Non-Executive Board member of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), to raise the issue of the delay in the appointment of the new Ombudsman successor. The term of the current Ombudsman, Rob Behrens, ends on 31 March 2024. In his letter, Wragg has stated that the uncertainty of a successor raises questions about how the PHSO will operate. Wragg has asked the PHSO to clarify the implications for the organisation and complainants caused by a delay in the appointment of a permanent Ombudsman.

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) has launched its routine inquiry into the work and performance of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). As part of the inquiry, PACAC is inviting individuals who have submitted and concluded complaints to the PHSO to complete a survey about their experience of the complaints process. The inquiry will assess the PHSO’s handling of individual complaints and its use of data to identify and address potential concerns in public sector administration. Survey responses will inform PACAC’s scrutiny, although it will not intervene in individual cases in line with general select committee practice. Evidence can be submitted until 27 February 2026.

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) has announced a new inquiry into the role and operation of public inquiries. The Committee is seeking expert evidence on how the government should respond to calls for a Public Inquiry and on the mechanisms for scrutinising the implementation of recommendations arising from such inquiries. PACAC explained that public inquiries are independent, minister-established and publicly funded investigations into issues of significant public concern. This follows recommendations directed at Parliament in the final report of the Infected Blood Inquiry, chaired by Sir Brian Langstaff, and reflects the PACAC’s view, expressed by its Chair Simon Hoare MP, that public confidence in both the rationale for initiating inquiries and the application of their findings is essential. Responses can be submitted by 6 February 2026.

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) has published the government’s and the Electoral Commission’s responses to its Review of the 2024 General Election. The Committee concluded that the election was well administered but under increasing strain. The government, in its strategy for modern and secure elections, accepted this assessment and committed to improving data sharing, automating voter registration, and piloting more flexible voting in local elections. The Electoral Commission agreed to develop clear criteria for assessing electoral administration. However, both bodies rejected proposals for a unified electoral register, a standardised national system for conducting elections, and reforms concerning postal voting, voter identification, and electoral law consolidation. The Committee’s Chair welcomed progress but cautioned that substantial further action is required to safeguard the integrity and efficiency of the electoral system.

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) has published the government's response to its report on the Civil Service People Survey. In its report, PACAC made eight recommendations, of which the government accepted five, partially accepted one and did not accept two. In response, PACAC has said that it is disappointed that the government rejected the recommendation that the People Survey be classed as official statistics. However, PACAC has welcomed the Cabinet Office’s acceptance of the recommendation to expand its engagement with users of the People Survey. PACAC has also said that it awaits the results from the 2023 Survey which have not been made publicly available, despite the government committing to publishing the information from the Survey more quickly.