Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 4
64th Report - Costs of clinical negligence
Published 30 Jan 2026
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Costs of clinical negligence All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Department’s failure to address problems with maternity care in England has led to avoidable harm and unnecessary costs. Over the last 20 years the cost of settling claims involving infants and children has increased significantly. In 2024–25, costs for claims involving brain injury at birth were £1,554 million, with the total cost of claims for paediatric failings reaching £325 million. Damages awarded in these cases are higher than most clinical negligence claims as they typically include compensation for lifelong health and social care, future lost earnings and any necessary adaptations to accommodation. Court rulings on the eligibility of innovative or novel treatment options have also increased the value of damages awarded in recent years. NHS Resolution settles around 120 to 130 brain injury cases involving children every year but it can take an average of 11-12 years to resolve each claim. In response, NHS Resolution has developed an innovative early notification scheme to provide more timely support to families and improve the speed at which lessons are learned. NHS England told us that it expects the final part of the Amos Review into England’s maternity and neonatal services in 2026, but this does not mean it is waiting to act on its recommendations. 5 recommendation a. The Department and the organisations it funds need to learn lessons from its failure to improve maternity care in England. Where problems arise the Department and the wider NHS should look for systemic failings in care and tackle these problems at their cause. b. The Department should publish the Amos Review within two months alongside its response and set out how it plans to reduce the incidence of harm and the costs of claims in maternity care.
From: Public Accounts Committee, 64th Report - Costs of clinical negligence (HC 1234), 30 January 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 7 April 2026 (deadline 30 March 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government agrees with the Committee's recommendation to set out an operational plan on clinical negligence, disagrees with others, and has some recommendations "under consideration".
- It agrees to write to the Committee "by this Autumn" with its workplan, key milestones and likely areas of focus for reform, but "disagrees" with publishing David Lock KC's review, saying it has "no current plans" to publish a separate report.
- It "disagrees" with estimating and tracking the costs of treating avoidable harm, stating it "would not be financially or logistically feasible", and "disagrees" with a new national data-sharing system, saying "there is already data sharing arrangements in place".
- On maternity, it agrees with the recommendation to learn lessons. Baroness Amos has confirmed the independent investigation will publish its final report in June 2026, and a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will develop a national action plan.
- Alternative dispute mechanisms and fixed recoverable costs are "under consideration", and the government is "unable to commit" to the six-month timeframe for double recovery estimates. It will write to the Committee by Autumn 2026 on each.