Recommendation 2

NS&I’s positive news culture has meant it has not learned lessons, which has affected its ability to deliver the programme. NS&I told us that that it promotes a “can do” attitude and culture; while this has benefits in encouraging commitment to NS&I and to transformation, NS&I acknowledges that it has been over-confident about its ability to deliver 3 the Programme. The Government Internal Audit Agency’s December 2024 review of NS&I’s culture found that its leaders were not taking responsibility for taking action to address issues raised. NS&I says it understands that its transformation will require a change in mindset and accountability, but it was not able to tell us how it would do this. Instead, when asked about a “positive news culture” which can result in decisions not made and disagreements not resolved, NS&I’s leadership continued to emphasize positive scores from staff engagement surveys. As these surveys only capture employees’ views, it does not give it an external perspective. The external organisations that have reviewed the programme told the NAO that NS&I was often slow to act on advice, or did not act. recommendation NS&I should seek positive attestation from NS&I non-executive directors and from the Treasury, that: • NS&I has implemented recommendations from the culture review and other recent reviews; and that • NS&I’s leadership has demonstrably learned lessons as the Programme has progressed