Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted in Part
Establish standardised reporting requirements for fee-charging public bodies to enable effective public and parliamentary scrutiny.
Recommendation
Charging bodies do not publish adequate or consistent information on their fees and charges to allow for effective public scrutiny and accountability. The Treasury sets out in both Managing Public Money (MPM) and the Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) the information departments must disclose on fees and charges in their annual report and accounts. However, inconsistencies between these documents creates ambiguity about what needs to be reported and the required level of detail. Partly as a result, none of the case study bodies fully met the Treasury’s disclosure requirements in 2023–24. The information in department annual reports is not sufficient for users to understand what they are being charged for; for instance cross-subsidising is not always transparent, and the aims of charges are often unclear. The presentation, depth and metrics disclosed by charging bodies vary considerably, limiting comparison and understanding for the public, the Treasury, and Parliament. recommendation The Treasury should set, by March 2026 in time for the next financial year, proportionate and standardised reporting requirements for fee-charging public bodies. These requirements must enable effective public and Parliamentary scrutiny by ensuring at a minimum that each body publishes: • how fees are calculated; 5 • the cost-recovery targets and actual performance with an explanation of any variance; • and the breakdown of costs included in fees, clearly identifying any cross-subsidies or costs included to support other areas of government.
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the specific recommendation for standardised reporting but commits to updating the Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) by Spring 2026 with clearer reporting guidance for fee-charging public bodies. They will also consider if further reporting requirements are necessary.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. The government agrees that published information on fees and charges should be improved. This needs to be balanced against the wider aim to reduce the financial reporting burden and efforts to improve timeliness of financial reporting more generally. The Treasury will update the Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) to align to 6.11 of Managing Public Money (MPM) by Spring 2026 to include clearer reporting guidance for fee-charging public bodies to ensure more effective Parliamentary scrutiny. The government will continue to keep this under review including considering as part of a wider review of Central Government financial reporting and consider if this will be sufficient or whether additional reporting requirements are necessary to achieve the Committee’s objectives.