Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 26
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 ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
There is no estimate of the extent to which successful clinical negligence claimants then go on to use publicly funded health or social care services for their conditions.67 We asked NHS Resolution why there is no clear data on the number of people who are paid compensation and go on to receive ongoing health and social care services. NHS Resolution told us it is not able to ask claimants for information on either how they spend their award or whether they subsequently access publicly funded services to manage their condition.68 Although claimants can be asked to declare in court if they 60 Committee of Public Accounts, DHSC Annual Report and Accounts 2023–24, Twenty-fifth Report of Session 2024–25, HC 639, 14 May 2025 61 Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers (CCN0005); Action against Medical Accidents (CCN0018); Do No Harm (CN0024) 62 Q 74 63 Q 67 64 C&AG’s Report, para 2.20 65 Qq 35, 76 66 Q 44 67 C&AG’s Report, para 2.20 68 Q 76 17 plan to use the NHS for treatment, NHS Resolution told us the courts have explicitly said that these arrangements cannot be imposed on claimants without their permission.69
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.