Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 25
54th Report - Afghanistan Response Route
Published 14 Nov 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Afghanistan Response Route (ARR) All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The Department’s estimate of £850 million for the total costs related to the February 2022 data breach does not include legal costs, which the Department estimates will be at least £2.5 million, or compensation claims from people affected. In July 2025, following the public disclosure of the February 2022 data breach, several law firms reported that they were assisting affected individuals in seeking compensation from the government.66 We asked the Department if it set aside any contingent liability for compensation. It told us this would be a “live issue” with the Comptroller and Auditor General, between the Committee’s session and the publication of the Department’s accounts for 2024–25. The Department said the government currently planned to defend compensation claims robustly in the courts, which would factor into its judgments about financial provision.67 60 C&AG’s Report, para 32, Q 47 61 C&AG’s Report, para 24 62 C&AG’s Report, para 33 63 Qq 47, 49 64 Q 56 65 Qq 49–50 66 C&AG’s Report, paras 31, 37, Figure 4 67 Q 58 16
From: Public Accounts Committee, 54th Report - Afghanistan Response Route (HC 1391), 14 November 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fifty-fourth Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026 (deadline 14 January 2026).
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fifty-fourth report from Session 2024-26
Published 19 January 2026.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government agrees with four of the Committee's recommendations, including six-monthly updates on ARR resettlement from March 2026, and disagrees with the recommendation on separately capturing ARR costs.
- On updates, the government agrees to write to the Committee every six months from March 2026 until the ARR is complete, though it "may not always be possible to provide a precise breakdown by scheme".
- On the case working system, it agrees, stating the recommendation is implemented and that DACS (introduced in May 2022) addressed "many of the vulnerabilities", with the department "equipped with the right tools to minimise the risk" of a recurrence.
- On scrutiny, it agrees and gives a target date of Spring 2026. The Treasury will issue a Dear Accounting Officer letter on sharing information with the Comptroller and Auditor General in the event of a super-injunction.
- It disagrees on separate ARR costing, saying this would be "disproportionately complex and resource intensive", and instead offers an indicative cost allocation at the end of each financial year, included with the six-monthly updates.