Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Clinical negligence cases impose significant monetary costs on taxpayers, totalling £2.8 billion.
Conclusion
The Department recognised that each incidence of clinical negligence has a tragedy behind it involving a patient. It told us that while the optimal number of clinical negligence cases would be zero, this will never be a practical target. Clinical negligence also comes with a monetary cost to the taxpayer. The Department is required to make compensation payments for pain suffered and the impact on the everyday lives of those who have suffered negligence. In 2023–24, NHS Resolution, which administers claims of clinical negligence for the Department, paid £2.8 billion in cash to claimants.22
Government Response
A response document is linked to this report, dated 18 September 2025. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document ↗