Grant schemes impact assessment
Implementation of early grant schemes without predicted impact assessments or adherence to standard business case requirements.
Source spread
Where this theme appears
This theme appears across 5 independent accountability sources, so the source mix matters as much as the headline total.
198 committee recs
57 NAO recs
12 PHSO decisions
93 LGO/SPSO decisions
Browse by source
Source-grouped records are useful for tracing where a concern came from. Large sections show the 50 strongest matches for that source; counts still show the full theme total.
Select committee recommendations(198)— showing 50 strongest matches
#66 —
Recommendation: The Government should report annually on funds invested by the Sterling 20 group, as well as the destinations of those investments, and the impact of the initiative in equalising investment across the UK. (Recommendation, Paragraph 202)
Response Pending
#34 —
Recommendation: We recommend HM Treasury conclude its consultation on the Bank Referral Scheme forthwith and that significant improvements are made to it by the time of the next Budget. The Scheme should be fully integrated with other business finance support schemes, …
Response Pending
#33 —
Recommendation: The Bank Referral Scheme is a good idea but it is being poorly implemented. Fundamental improvements are required to ensure that the scheme operates at the scale required and is fully used. (Conclusion, Paragraph 125)
Response Pending
#30 —
Recommendation: The Government should publish an evaluation of the net benefits of: (a) exempting ISAs from Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (SDRT); (b) a permanent holiday for newly-listed companies rather than the three-year temporary 122 relief in the 2025 Budget; and (c) …
Response Pending
#29 —
Recommendation: We recommend that the Government commission and publish a dynamic costing of the options for restoring some form of dividend tax relief for pension funds investing in UK equities—including a targeted, partial restoration applying to DC default funds—alongside an analysis …
Response Pending
#28 —
Recommendation: We recommend that HM Treasury review all its targeted fiscal instruments for stimulating pension fund investment in productive UK assets to evaluate that they are working as intended and assess the scope for further instruments to be deployed. For example, …
Response Pending
#18 —
Recommendation: Some tax reliefs incentivise behaviour, while others represent a choice by government to reduce the tax burden on particular groups or sectors. In 2019, HMRC completed an assessment of reliefs with economic and social objectives, resulting in them being grouped …
Gov response: 3.1 The Government agrees with the recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2021 3.2 The government will explore the best way to collate and publish the objectives of non-structural tax reliefs, many of which have been …
Not Addressed
#17 —
Recommendation: When we examined tax reliefs in June 2014, we found that many tax reliefs were introduced without clear objectives. As part of our evidence session in 2014, HM Treasury told us that it was rare to have detailed objectives for …
Gov response: 3.1 The Government agrees with the recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2021 3.2 The government will explore the best way to collate and publish the objectives of non-structural tax reliefs, many of which have been …
Not Addressed
#22 —
Recommendation: Seasonal workers in the tourism industry are falling between the cracks in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. We recommend that DCMS works with the tourism sector and HM Treasury to review the measures in place to support tourism businesses and …
Gov response: Since 1 July, employers have been able to bring back employees for any amount of time and any shift pattern, while still being able to claim grants under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for normal …
Under Consideration
#16 —
Recommendation: Lessons must be learnt from Arts Council England’s emergency funding when it comes to distributing the additional Government support. Support cannot be limited to organisations with a track record of public funding. Although recipients must be able to demonstrate they …
Gov response: The Arts Council England has recently delivered emergency funding to both National Portfolio Organisations and £50 million dedicated to organisations that are not in its National Portfolio. In government, and at the Arts Council England, …
Under Consideration
#13 —
Recommendation: We welcome the Government’s commitment to provide £1.57 billion in funding for our cultural and heritage sectors; however, whether it is enough to safeguard the cultural sector will ultimately depend on how long institutions remain closed or subject to social …
Gov response: The funding criteria and application process for the Culture Recovery Fund went live in early August. Money has already begun to be allocated, with £3.36 million in emergency funding for grassroots music venues allocated on …
Under Consideration
#11 —
Recommendation: The Covid-19 crisis presents the biggest threat to the UK’s cultural infrastructure, institutions and workforce in a generation. The loss of performing arts institutions, and the vital work they do in communities by spreading the health and education benefits of …
Gov response: On 5 July the Government announced a £1.57 billion support package to protect Britain’s world class cultural, arts and heritage institutions. This money represents the biggest ever one-off investment in UK culture and will provide …
Under Consideration
#1 —
Recommendation: The many and varied sectors under the remit of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport are integral to the UK’s national life and identity, as well as being vital drivers of economic growth and employment. Yet many parts …
Gov response: Sport - Conclusions and recommendations 2–9
Under Consideration
#9 —
Recommendation: The cross-subsidy model has reached its limit. Without grant funding from central Government, providers will be vulnerable to the economic impact of COVID-19. Housing associations have commendably made up for reduced Government grant investment in the last decade by developing …
Gov response: We have supported the delivery of over 486,600 new affordable homes since 2010 despite fiscal constraints and we are determined to do more, which is why we have extended the existing Affordable Homes Programme by …
Under Consideration
#11 —
Recommendation: It remains unclear how the Government expects businesses to pay back loans in the future. The crisis and the lockdown of the economy meant that businesses have largely forgone revenue which many are unlikely to make up in the future …
Gov response: Even prior to the extension, over 1 million businesses had been supported by the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, many of which have not previously taken out finance. The government has always been clear that these …
Under Consideration
#1 — Undertake impact assessment of Planning and Infrastructure Bill on Nature Restoration Fund and nature markets.
Recommendation: The Government should undertake an impact assessment of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to assess how the Nature Restoration Fund would interact with and impact upon the operation of Biodiversity net gain and of broader Government initiatives to encourage investment …
Gov response: An impact assessment of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to accompany the Bill through passage was published on 6 May 2025. BNG is not in scope of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, BNG and the …
Accepted
#7 — Establish an alternative funding mechanism for farmers missing SFI24 by September
Recommendation: An alternative funding mechanism should be put in place to fill the gap in funding for those who missed out on the SFI24, no later than September
Gov response: The Government agrees that Parliamentary scrutiny is vital to effective policy development and good Government. The Government always strives to keep Parliament updated, and Ministers act in accordance with the Ministerial Code, as circumstances permit. …
Accepted
#16 — Department's further education teacher recruitment initiatives remain new and unevaluated for long-term impact.
Recommendation: The Department acknowledged that it was concerned about the position in colleges, where the vacancy rate was significantly higher than in schools, but it described having a “strong” focus on recruitment into further education.38 It explained that it had introduced …
Gov response: 3.2 The government recognises there are variations in school and FE recruitment and retention, including greater shortages in key STEM and technical subjects and in disadvantaged areas. 3.4 School and college leaders are responsible for …
Accepted
#11 — Department has not fully evaluated all teacher recruitment and retention initiatives
Recommendation: In 2016, the previous Public Accounts Committee recommended that the Department should undertake a full evaluation of all its recruitment and retention initiatives to understand what works, including 18 Q 62; C&AG’s Report, para 2.38 19 Qq 22, 62 20 …
Gov response: 2.3 The department is investing in analysing and evaluating policies to understand impact, maximise value for money and ensure focus on our best evidenced levers. The department’s strategy is underpinned by a robust and expanding …
Accepted
#11 — Publish annual impact assessments for ODA cuts, detailing rationale and alignment with aid objectives.
Recommendation: We recommend that the Government commits to publishing an impact assessment for every year in which cuts to ODA are implemented, including the 2026/27 financial year, and providing rationale for how these decisions align with the impact that UK aid …
Gov response: Agree. The FCDO plans to publish this assessment following the finalisation of ODA programme allocations.
Accepted
#20 — Require energy access projects to assess trade-offs and risks in funding bids
Recommendation: The Government should require all energy access projects to include a clear assessment of trade-offs in funding bids, alongside a plan for monitoring impacts and communicating risks to stakeholders. (Recommendation, Paragraph 67)
Gov response: Government Response: Partially Agree 46. We agree in principle that energy access projects should consider and communicate the key trade-offs inherent in their design—such as technology choice, affordability versus financial sustainability, speed versus inclusion, and …
Partially Accepted
#23 — Prepare comprehensive regulatory assessment for the Nature Restoration Fund before PIB Part 3 enactment.
Recommendation: Given the weak impact assessment of the NRF, we ask the Government to prepare a regulatory assessment of the NRF, if and when it is adopted. This assessment should be completed before Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill …
Gov response: 71. In our response to the 2024 consultation on reforms to the NPPF, which sought views on the implementation of carbon accounting through the planning system, we recognised that both local authorities and developers would …
Under Consideration
#22 — Revise Nature Restoration Fund impact assessment to include diverse environmental issues and local authority roles.
Recommendation: The Government should revise the impact assessment for the NRF, to take account of a variety of environmental issues, not only nutrient neutrality. It should consider the impact, role and budget of local authorities during the revision process. Only once …
Gov response: 65. Protecting communities around the country from flooding is a priority for this Government, which is why we are making a record £10.5 billion investment until 2036, delivering the largest flood and coastal investment programme …
Under Consideration
#21 — Unidimensional impact assessment for Nature Restoration Fund is unsatisfactory for broader environmental issues.
Recommendation: We accept that the initial impact assessment of the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) was carried out on the basis of nutrient neutrality, due to limitations with broader data availability. However, as the NRF will have considerable implications for a wide …
Gov response: 64. We have consulted on changes to planning policy for the natural environment, including a new requirement for local planning authorities to set standards for green infrastructure provision, drawing on Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework. …
Under Consideration
#27 — Publish evaluation of funding schemes impacting skills supply in retrofit sector
Recommendation: The Government should commit immediately to at least maintaining its support for measures aimed at increasing demand for retrofit during this Parliament. It should also commit to carrying out and publishing an evaluation of the impact of its funding schemes …
Gov response: The government agrees with this recommendation The Warm Homes Plan will invest £15 billion to upgrade up to five million homes by 2030. This represents the biggest ever public investment to upgrade British homes and …
No Published Response
#25 — Publish thorough impact assessment before mandating skilled labour in clean energy retrofit procurement
Recommendation: The Government should carry out and publish a thorough impact assessment before deciding to use conditionality as a policy lever in procurement to mandate skilled labour requirements in contracts for clean energy retrofit works in public sector buildings. (Recommendation, Paragraph …
Gov response: As outlined in the Warm Homes Plan, the government intends to ensure that fair work, skills and sustainable supply chain requirements are considered by default in commercial contracts and grants, where it is feasible and …
No Published Response
#72 —
Recommendation: We recommend that the British Business Bank regularly report on progress reducing investment inequalities. (Recommendation, Paragraph 229)
Response Pending
#63 —
Recommendation: The Government should advance the British Business Bank’s British Growth Partnership to create a UK scheme that match both the design and scale of the French Tibi system. (Recommendation, Paragraph 197)
Response Pending
#60 —
Recommendation: The Office for Investment should develop a case management service for the UK’s 14,300 High Growth Firms to proactively ensure that High Growth Firms are supported effectively by the four public finance institutions, along with other support measures such as …
Response Pending
#58 —
Recommendation: The Office for Investment together with the new Business Growth Service should: a. ensure there is a single front door for accessing the full range of their services; b. conduct an annual survey of business to evaluate the products offered …
Response Pending
#19 —
Recommendation: We asked the exchequer departments why new reliefs were being introduced with unclear objectives. HMRC responded that some tax reliefs were expected to apply to a certain group and reflected a political choice about who or what to tax. It …
Gov response: 3.1 The Government agrees with the recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2021 3.2 The government will explore the best way to collate and publish the objectives of non-structural tax reliefs, many of which have been …
Not Addressed
#15 —
Recommendation: We were concerned that the lack of available information on some large reliefs had meant that it was not possible for HMRC and HM Treasury to know whether all of those who were expected to benefit had been able to …
Gov response: 2.4 The Government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: December 2021 2.5 HMRC will publish data showing who is benefitting from pensions reliefs to the extent data is available. HMRC publishes annual statistics …
Not Addressed
#13 —
Recommendation: We asked HMRC what assessment it had made to determine who benefited from another large tax relief, the VAT relief on the construction of new dwellings. HMRC forecast that the relief cost £15 billion in 2018–19. We asked whether the …
Gov response: 2.1 The Government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: December 2021 2.2 HMRC recognises the importance of publishing more information to aid understanding of the use of tax reliefs. HMRC already publishes statistics …
Not Addressed
#11 —
Recommendation: We asked how the exchequer departments could be sure of the impact that pension tax reliefs were having if they had not evaluated them. HMRC asserted that pension reliefs had been subject to extensive evaluative attention, with “virtually no stone …
Gov response: 1.3 The Government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 1.4 The Government has undertaken several consultations on aspects of pensions tax relief over the last few years, including: a. Pensions tax relief administration: call for evidence …
Not Addressed
#14 —
Recommendation: The Government must learn from the shortcomings of previous support schemes, including those for charities and self-employed people, to ensure this package is tailored to the unique characteristics of the cultural sector and its workers, and reaches them promptly. The …
Gov response: The funding criteria and application process for the Culture Recovery Fund went live in early August. Money has already begun to be allocated, with £3.36 million in emergency funding for grassroots music venues allocated on …
Under Consideration
#7 —
Recommendation: The majority of business support measures have been one-size-fits-all, but some crucial sectors of the economy need more bespoke support. The government’s grants and loans schemes to support businesses through the pandemic have directed large sums of money to affected …
No Published Response
#8 —
Recommendation: The Government also needs to make sure that the requirement for employers interested in offering fewer than 30 Kickstart roles to apply through a representative organisation does not make the scheme inaccessible to SMEs and charities.
Gov response: On your comments on the Kickstart scheme, I would highlight that gateway organisations, who collect bids on behalf of employers who require fewer than 30 roles, play a vital role in ensuring smaller employers find …
Under Consideration
#4 — Explain evidence for funding decisions and ensure robust basis for future scheme interventions.
Recommendation: DLUHC is making decisions about future funding of the scheme without a proper understanding of how effective funding has been in supporting those taking part in the scheme to date. Local authorities initially received funding of £10,500 per arrival. Since …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented A variety of sources are used to inform DLUHC’s evidence base about how the scheme is progressing, and to inform future funding decisions. DLUHC continues to …
Accepted
#27 — Increase Heat Training Grant to fully compensate workers for lost earnings during retrofit upskilling.
Recommendation: The Government should increase the value of the Heat Training Grant to provide workers with full compensation for lost earnings when taking time off work to upskill on low carbon retrofit. This should take effect until market demand provides sufficient …
Gov response: The government continues to work with training providers and industry to ensure the Heat Training Grant offers the best value for money. The Heat Training Grant helps to overcome the barriers that existing professionals face …
Partially Accepted
#25 — Heat Training Grant inadequately compensates workers for lost earnings during low carbon retrofit upskilling.
Recommendation: The Heat Training Grant does not adequately incentivise workers to take time off work to upskill on low carbon retrofit or compensate them for lost earnings. Many workers in the retrofit sector are self-employed and cannot afford to take time …
Gov response: The government continues to work with training providers and industry to ensure the Heat Training Grant offers the best value for money. The Heat Training Grant helps to overcome the barriers that existing professionals face …
Not Accepted
#24 — Low demand for low carbon retrofit training due to inadequate grants and uncertain sector future.
Recommendation: Training providers are reluctant to invest in courses on low carbon retrofit due to low demand for training. This is underpinned by the uncertain future technical direction of the sector, inadequate training grants, weak promotion of careers in retrofit and …
Gov response: The government recognises that a skilled, competent and robust supply chain is needed to deliver the necessary upgrades to buildings. Growing this workforce requires certainty, via government funding or regulation, so that companies can make …
Accepted
#2 — Streamline and simplify government's retrofit support schemes and eligibility requirements.
Recommendation: It is critical that the Government streamlines and simplifies its support schemes, especially their eligibility requirements. Many schemes are too complicated and have failed to support fuel poor households, while also failing to incentivise able-to-pay households to invest their own …
Gov response: The government recognises the need to set long-term programme of support for home retrofit to transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future. The Warm Homes Plan will …
Accepted
#13 — Publish impact assessments for gender-specific programming cuts, no later than report response.
Recommendation: It is astonishing that the Government has made cuts to gender-specific programming without seemingly understanding the impacts on women and girls. The Government must publish impact assessments, as promised by the Minister, as soon as possible and no later than …
Gov response: 75. The UK made a pledge on the statistical inclusion of forcibly displaced people at the Global Refugee Forum in 2023 and is supporting a wide range of projects to improve displacement-related data collection. 76. …
Under Consideration
#10 —
Recommendation: We are concerned that the top-ups in previous years show ultimately that the Department will not allow a museum or gallery to shut and will seek to do something to make sure the museum or gallery were a going concern, …
Response Pending
#9 —
Recommendation: We asked the Department whether its usual approach of flat rate annual increases in museums’ and galleries’ funding at the start of the year, with additional top-ups later for those in financial trouble, provided the museums and galleries with insufficient …
Response Pending
#8 —
Recommendation: In most years, when calculating the grant-in-aid for the museums and galleries for the coming year, the Department applied an equal percentage uplift to their existing baseline allocations to allow for inflation, and subsequently used year-end top-ups to help those …
Response Pending
#7 —
Recommendation: Grant-in-aid from the Department forms a significant proportion of the total income of the sponsored museums and galleries. It was, for example, an average of 46% of total income in 2024–25.13 We therefore asked whether the provision of grant-in-aid meant …
Response Pending
#5 —
Recommendation: The Department’s current funding regime risks not providing museums and galleries with sufficient incentives to support themselves financially. The Department recognises the importance of providing museums and galleries with incentives to maximise opportunities for raising their own income, while also …
Response Pending
#25 —
Recommendation: The Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, made permanent by the current government, is having a negligible effect on the availability of high- Loan to Value (LTV) mortgages in the current market and on the affordability of home ownership. It may have a …
Response Pending
#48 —
Recommendation: The British Business Bank manages a range of programmes that provide valuable support to UK businesses. It plays a vital role helping support private sector investments, and directing investment funds to entrepreneurs and areas that struggle to access finance. We …
Response Pending
NAO audit recommendations(57)— showing 50 strongest matches
Government's general grant schemes
To achieve greater, proportionate monitoring and evaluation of grant schemes, the Grants Management Function should: (g) continue to work with the Evaluation Task Force to encourage departments to develop proportionate and robust evaluation plans during the grant design phase, including …
Accepted
The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK
c set out a benefits management strategy and plans for measuring changes in audience portrayal and economic growth without further delay. The plan should set out the baseline against which benefits will be measured, how benefits measured relate back to …
Accepted
Supporting local economic growth
The Department should evaluate the effectiveness of its capacity-building funding.
Accepted
The management of tax expenditures
j) include trend data on the number of beneficiaries of tax expenditures in published analysis, where possible, and take account of this within commentaries.
Accepted
Improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children
To better understand the impact of its approach, DfE should develop a research and evaluation strategy to build its evidence base to better understand how it should consider allocating funding across its various interventions.
Accepted
The condition and maintenance of local roads in England
To improve its approach to funding local road maintenance, DfT should develop an evaluative framework and use it to assess the impact of its investment in local road maintenance at the national level and to inform its future policy and …
Accepted
The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK
d examine how it will capture other benefits arising from ATUK. Recognising that ATUK is not intended as a savings programme, the BBC should assess ATUK?s alignment with other BBC-wide initiatives, for example any scope for financial efficiencies and other …
Accepted
Active Travel in England
DfT should: b. support ATE to establish a benefits monitoring approach that tracks the contribution of active travel investments to all of government?s wider strategic priorities. This would improve the monitoring of active travel outcomes, enabling DfT and other government …
Accepted
COVID-19 business grant schemes
HMT should, by September 2023, commission work to consider the impact of, and benefit secured from, the range of support to business provided through the COVID-19 pandemic to inform the development of future initiatives.
Accepted
Delivery of employment support schemes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
h) [HM Treasury should] when designing similar grant schemes in the future, devise measurable financial impact tests for consideration by ministers. Where data are not available to validate eligibility we would normally expect a self-assessment of expected income to be …
Accepted
Delivery of employment support schemes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
In evaluating the value for money of the schemes and learning lessons for the future, HM Treasury should: g) as part of its evaluation of the schemes, define and assess the extent of deadweight, looking at the full range of …
Accepted
UK Research and Innovation’s management of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund
UKRI should review the impact of changes in its conditions for co-investment funding on the size of business applying for support through the Fund.
Accepted
The management of tax expenditures
i) develop an approach so that it understands and can report the differences between actual and forecast cost for tax expenditures it regards as high-priority in its published analysis. In cases where it is not feasible to make a comparison …
Accepted
The management of tax expenditures
h) develop a more systematic approach to the evaluation of tax expenditures to provide greater coverage. We estimate that the external cost of commissioning evaluations of six tax expenditures a year would likely be between £1 million and £1.5 million. …
Accepted
The management of tax expenditures
g) identify and use independent data sources, where available, to further test reasons for movements in the cost of high-priority tax expenditures;
Accepted
The management of tax expenditures
HMRC should: f) further develop categorisation of tax expenditures according to, for example, their objectives, scale, age and risks, in order to inform the allocation of administrative resources in proportion to the cost and impact that tax expenditures are intended …
Partially accepted
The management of tax expenditures
e) establish and document clear requirements for officials to report concerns about the value for money of tax expenditures to ministers, for example by specifying accountability arrangements.
Partially accepted
The management of tax expenditures
d) each year review whether the objectives of tax expenditures still align with government objectives; and
Partially accepted
The management of tax expenditures
c) consider specifying time-periods or triggers for evaluation and review when designing each tax expenditure;
Partially accepted
The management of tax expenditures
b) develop a robust methodology for assessing the value for money of different types of tax expenditures, ensuring that assessments are quality-assured;
Rejected
The management of tax expenditures
HMT should: a) establish a framework for designing and administering tax expenditures that is commensurate with the large number of UK tax expenditures. The framework should draw on ‘Green Book’ principles, international good practice and stakeholder views;
Partially accepted
The National Space Strategy and the role of the UK Space Agency
DSIT and UKSA should evaluate the new prioritisation exercise and benefits framework designed to support spending review preparations, and identify whether this has enabled greater evidence-based decision making; and whether further improvements need to be made.
Accepted
The condition and maintenance of local roads in England
To improve its approach to funding local road maintenance, DfT should update its use of incentivised funding and consider how it could use this to improve outcomes. DfT should ensure that it develops a rigorous approach to assuring itself that …
Accepted
The BBC’s implementation of Across the UK
Building on the work the BBC has underway as it moves into phase two of ATUK, it should: a review changes it has made to ATUK since March 2021, including the underlying data it is using to track these, to …
Accepted
Reducing the harm from illegal drugs
The JCDU and departments should strengthen their approach to evaluating impacts and understanding ?what works? by: - developing and publishing a long-term evaluation plan, supported by sufficient resources, to develop a deeper understanding of the impacts of strategy funding; and …
Accepted
Education recovery in schools in England
DfE should model the impact of withdrawing the recovery premium and subsidy for the NTP, to assess whether tutoring in schools is financially sustainable given DfE?s objective for tutoring to become embedded in the school system.
Accepted
Delivery of employment support schemes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
d) as part of improving its methodology for estimating error and fraud, develop scheme-specific estimates for non-detection of error and fraud and, where appropriate, involve independent experts, such as academics and fraud prevention professionals, for example in assessing the range …
Accepted
Child Maintenance
The Department should: a) investigate why fewer people are taking-up CMS than expected and tackle any inappropriate barriers that prevent families using its services. In particular, it should: • research ways in which more people who do not have effective …
Partially accepted
Improving outcomes for women in the criminal justice system
h) develop and publish an evaluation strategy that sets out how the government might assess the impact of its interventions on women. This should include how it plans to: • evaluate its main programmes and commitments; • work with other …
Accepted
Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme – progress review
The Department has not undertaken a detailed assessment of the impact of the scheme on the wider housing market. It should expand the scope of its next evaluation to examine such wider effects, including a potential influence on the new-build …
Accepted
Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme – progress review
The Department should plan a further evaluation of the scheme, either soon to inform the new scheme from 2021, or after the end of the current scheme to inform potential new initiatives to support home ownership and housing supply after …
Accepted
Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme – progress review
The Department should consider further changes to the new scheme from 2021 to achieve other housing policy goals, for example to enact the government’s commitment to addressing the practice of developers selling new houses as leasehold.
Accepted
Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme – progress review
Housing market conditions have changed since the start of the scheme. The Department should assess the existing scheme against current market conditions and determine whether any changes to how it operates and criteria for eligibility would increase its impact.
Accepted
Government's general grant schemes
To achieve greater efficiencies in grant making, the Grants Management Function should: (b) work with the Public Sector Fraud Authority and departments to improve the coverage of initial fraud impact assessments, fraud risk assessments and measurement exercises for grant schemes, …
Accepted
Improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children
To effectively oversee its interventions DfE should monitor whether schools fund tutoring from their core funding after the planned end of the National Tutoring Programme, and then reflect on any further support it may need to provide to schools.
Accepted
Reducing the harm from illegal drugs
The JCDU and departments should develop and publish a long-term plan to deliver the 10-year strategy. As part of planning for the next Spending Review, the JCDU and departments should assess how the next phase of the programme builds on …
Accepted
Reducing the harm from illegal drugs
The JCDU and departments should work with HM Treasury to agree what is achievable before the next Spending Review. They should determine how to realistically demonstrate the impact of funding in the first three years, considering the lag time before …
Accepted
Education recovery in schools in England
DfE should build on the evidence and insights being gathered from stakeholder bodies and schools to understand how recovery interventions can best support disadvantaged pupils in the way DfE intends, and use the findings to inform and share good practice.
Accepted
Education recovery in schools in England
DfE should use research and evidence, including exploring the possibility of systematic longitudinal monitoring, to assess education recovery in schools, including whether children have recovered lost learning and whether progress is being made to close the disadvantage gap.
Accepted
Delivery of employment support schemes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
e) ensure that it routinely gathers data on the results of all its different compliance interventions and use this when it deploys compliance staff by scheme and risk, targeting resources to recover fraud where it remains cost-effective to do so.
Accepted
Managing reductions in Official Development Assistance spending
FCDO should set out how it intends to measure progress against the aims and objectives in its new development strategy. This should include the indicators and data it needs to monitor progress. It should also set out its responsibilities and …
Accepted
Managing reductions in Official Development Assistance spending
FCDO and HMT should consider how to improve the transparency of ODA spending decisions. This includes publishing details of significant changes to ODA spending in a way which allows for like-for-like comparisons over time and an assessment of the impact …
Accepted
Managing reductions in Official Development Assistance spending
Given the intended return to a 0.70% target, FCDO and HMT should maintain oversight of individual ODA spending commitments for future years and use this information to ensure future budgets are not over-committed ahead of time. Central oversight is important …
Accepted
Managing reductions in Official Development Assistance spending
FCDO and HMT should work with other ODA spending departments on scenario planning for a return to 0.70%. One scenario already set out is a potential return to 0.70% in 2024-25, but there may be others to consider. As part …
Accepted
Managing reductions in Official Development Assistance spending
FCDO and other ODA spending departments should assess the impact of the reduction and reprioritisation of ODA spending on performance in the short, medium and long term. This should include, but not be limited to, a focus on the impact …
Accepted
Business support schemes
g) monitor schemes' compliance with the good-practice principles of scheme management that we have set out in this report and use this to drive improvements.
Accepted
Business support schemes
f) develop some standard metrics across schemes that have broadly similar aims, to enable better comparison of their effectiveness by May 2020. This should include routine monitoring of businesses’ views; and
Accepted
Business support schemes
In its management of its overall portfolio of business support schemes, the Department should: e) coordinate a review of its schemes to determine their strategic fit with the Industrial Strategy and what consequent changes are required by July 2020;
Accepted
Business support schemes
d) sets out plans for evaluation, including how it will ensure such assessment is supported by robust evidence of the impact against the criteria in its updated evaluation framework.
Accepted
Business support schemes
c) has a monitoring plan that shows how interim measures link to the scheme’s ultimate objectives if these are not immediately measurable; and
Accepted
Health investigations(1)
PHSO casework decisions(12)
P-001131 — HM Revenue & Customs
Mr H complains about HMRC's decision not to award him the self-employed income support scheme (SEISS) grant in June 2020.
UK Government
Oct 2021
P-001133 — HM Revenue & Customs
Mr W complained about HMRC's decision that he was not eligible for the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme in May 2020, and that the Adjudicator's Office did not consider his circumstances or investigate the issue.
UK Government
Oct 2021
P-001225 — HM Revenue & Customs
Mrs B complains that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) wrongly refused her applications for the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme grant several times, even though she is self-employed. She says she has missed out on income due to the coronavirus pandemic.
UK Government
Dec 2021
P-001221 — HM Revenue & Customs
Mr O complained about HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and its decision that he was not eligible for the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant in May 2020. Mr O also complained about misinformation HMRC gave him, and its complaint handling.
UK Government
Dec 2021
P-001277 — UK Research and Innovation
Mr B complained that Innovate UK, which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), failed to properly assess and score his submission for grant funding. He also complained they did not address comments he made in his complaint response
UK Government
Jan 2022
P-001260 — HM Revenue & Customs
Mrs A complained about HM Revenue & Customs' (HMRC) decision to refuse her Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant application in May 2020. Mrs A says her application was declined because HMRC believed she was in receipt of extra income during the 2018/19 tax year.
UK Government
Jan 2022
P-001323 — HM Revenue & Customs
Mr R complained HM Revenue & Customs declined his Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) application, even though he says he was eligible for it.
UK Government
Mar 2022
P-001361 — HM Revenue & Customs
Mr J complained that HMRC failed to consider his exceptional circumstances when it decided to not award him the Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). Further, he complains HMRC and the Adjudicator's Office did not address his concerns in their responses to his complaint.
UK Government
Upheld
Apr 2022
P-001481 — The Adjudicator's Office
Ms K complained HMRC’s maladministration resulted in her not being eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS)
UK Government
Jul 2022
P-002020 — HM Revenue and Customs
Ms I complains on behalf of her son about HMRC's decision that he was not eligible for a grant under the self-employed income support scheme (SEISS). She says she completed the 2018/19 tax return incorrectly by mistake and HMRC should have realised her mistake and allowed the grant.
UK Government
Jun 2023
P-002978 — HM Revenue and Customs
Miss L complains on behalf of Mrs T about HMRC’s decision to find her not eligible for the fourth and fifth grant under the Self Employment Income Support Scheme.
UK Government
Sep 2024
P-003861 — Office of Gas and Electricity Markets
Mrs O complains about how Ofgem handled her company's application for the Tariff Guarantee (TG) under the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Initiative (NDRHI) scheme.
UK Government
Sep 2023
LGO / SPSO decisions(93)
21-011-416 — South Oxfordshire District Council
Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s decision to seek repayment of COVID-19 business grants and that this will cause him financial difficulties. The Council wrongly awarded the grants which was fault. There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to recover the grants after it realised it …
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Upheld
Mar 2022
21-007-953 — Huntingdonshire District Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal of an application for a self-isolation payment. There is no evidence of fault by the Council.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Jan 2022
21-004-809 — Cheshire East Council
Summary: Although the complainant missed out on a COVID-19 business support grant it appears he was eligible for, this was not due to fault by the Council. We have therefore completed our investigation.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Not Upheld
Jan 2022
21-003-574 — Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
Summary: Mr X complained the Council wrongly refused his business a grant, causing financial difficulties. We find no fault in the Council’s decision making.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Not Upheld
Jan 2022
21-002-312 — Lancaster City Council
Summary: Ms X complained the Council wrongly refused her business a COVID-19 business grant, causing financial difficulties. There is no fault in how the Council determined Ms X’s application.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Not Upheld
Jan 2022
20-010-430 — Liverpool City Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not making Mr X the named business ratepayer for a property and therefore not paying him some COVID-19-related business grants. This is mainly because the evidence suggests the Council properly reached its decision on the main point at issue.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Feb 2022
21-008-400 — North Northamptonshire Council
Summary: There was no fault in how the Council considered the complainant’s application for a discretionary COVID-19 business restart grant. The Council was at fault because it did not explore the complainant’s requests for reasonable adjustments, but this did not cause him an injustice. It is not the Council’s fault …
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Upheld
Mar 2022
21-007-499 — Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council
Summary: Mr X complained the Council wrongly refused COVID-19 business grants and gave him incorrect advice. The Council initially refused a Restart grant for an incorrect reason but this fault did not cause Mr X an injustice because it reconsidered the application when he challenged its original decision.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Upheld
Apr 2022
21-007-544 — Cannock Chase District Council
Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s handling of his request for an Additional Restrictions Grant, causing him financial loss, distress and wasted time. We found fault in the Council’s communications causing injustice. We recommended the Council apologise to Mr X, consider a late grant application and take action to …
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Upheld
Apr 2022
21-010-905 — Dacorum Borough Council
Summary: There was no administrative fault in the Council’s decision not to include children’s soft play centres in one of its COVID-19 business support schemes. Although the complainant opposes this decision, this does not give us grounds to uphold her complaint. We have therefore completed our investigation.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Not Upheld
Apr 2022
22-000-405 — London Borough of Islington
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of an application for a COVID-19-related business grant. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
May 2022
21-004-926 — Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to award him a COVID-19 business grant. While one reason for its refusal appears flawed we cannot question the Council’s decision that Mr X did not meet the criteria for the grant. Any fault did not therefore …
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
May 2022
22-000-812 — St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a grant funding scheme. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. There is there is not enough evidence of fault in the way …
LGO (Local Government & …
Planning
May 2022
21-012-032 — London Borough of Enfield
Summary: Ms X complained the Council did not award her business the expanded retail discount, which would reduce the business rates it had to pay. We have found fault as we find the Council reached its decision on eligibility without taking account of all relevant factors. This created uncertainty. The …
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Upheld
Jun 2022
22-000-665 — Burnley Borough Council
Summary: Mr X complained, on behalf of company A, about the way the Council applied relevant guidance when deciding the company was not eligible for expanded retail discount. The refusal added to the financial difficulties the company suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council was at fault …
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Upheld
Jul 2022
21-014-448 — Ipswich Borough Council
Summary: Mr X complained the Council was wrong to refuse Mrs Y a business grant, causing her financial difficulties and distress. We found the Council at fault in its communications with Mrs Y.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Upheld
Jul 2022
22-000-212 — Manchester City Council
Summary: Mr X complained the Council wrongly refused him a business grant causing financial loss. We found no fault in the Council’s decision making but we found fault in its communications. We recommended the Council apologise to Mr X and remind its staff to give evidence based reasons for decisions.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Upheld
Nov 2022
22-010-586 — Kent County Council
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s administration of its Household Support Fund. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault affecting Mr X and it is unlikely investigation would achieve any worthwhile outcome for him.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Nov 2022
22-007-624 — Redcar & Cleveland Council
Summary: Mr X complained the Council refused him the Local Restrictions Support Grant causing distress. We found fault in the Council’s decision making. We recommended the Council apologise, pay Mr X for time and trouble and remake its decision.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Upheld
Dec 2022
22-017-711 — Nottingham City Council
Summary: Mr B complained on behalf of his mother Mrs C, that the Council failed to identify that the soffits and fascia on the roof of her property needed repairing or replacing before carrying out grant-funded work to install external wall insulation. We consider the Council has made a reasonable …
LGO (Local Government & …
Housing
Upheld
Apr 2024
23-015-598 — London Borough of Enfield
Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s refusal to award him an energy rebate causing him distress and financial hardship. We fault in the way the Council considered Mr X’s entitlement to the energy rebate payment and gave him incorrect information about the scheme. The Council has offered a suitable …
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Upheld
May 2024
24-000-899 — Transport for London
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Authority’s decision not to make an award under the vehicle scrappage scheme. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing injustice.
LGO (Local Government & …
Transport And Highways
Jun 2024
25-015-696 — South Ribble Borough Council
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about how the Council awarded a grant from public funds as this impacts all or most of the people in the Council’s area and as such, is outside our remit.
LGO (Local Government & …
Other Categories
Nov 2025
24-003-327 — Transport for London
Summary: Ms A complained about the way Transport for London has dealt with her application under its scrappage scheme. She said Transport for London has repeatedly rejected her application with no good reason. We found Transport for London at fault for the way it handled Ms A’s application. It has …
LGO (Local Government & …
Transport And Highways
Upheld
Nov 2024
201403458 — Glasgow City Council
Mr C complained about the service he received from Business Gateway in relation to applications for grants for his new business. He said that he was encouraged to apply for grants but, when his applications were unsuccessful, staff did not respond reasonably to his requests for further information and assistance. …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Local Government
Partly Upheld
Dec 2015
201508911 — Glasgow City Council
Mr C applied to the council for a Community Care Grant from the Scottish Welfare Fund after moving into a new, unfurnished home. He was initially awarded the majority of items he requested but was refused others, including hallway and bathroom carpets, a washing machine, and a microwave. Dissatisfied with …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Local Government
Upheld
Jun 2016
25-011-287 — Warwickshire County Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to decline Mr X’s application for its local welfare scheme. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Jan 2026
21-010-849 — Wyre Borough Council
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council failed to properly advise him about a COVID-19 business grant scheme. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council and its actions did not cause Mr X significant injustice.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Jan 2022
21-006-837 — City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
Summary: Mr D complained the Council refused his business a Restart Grant to support it in re-opening following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in April 2021. We do not uphold the complaint, finding no fault in the Council’s decision.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Not Upheld
Feb 2022
21-015-571 — Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mr X not receiving a COVID-19-related business grant. Since Mr X’s complaint to us, the Council has paid him a grant. We cannot achieve significantly more than that.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Feb 2022
21-015-794 — Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse his application for a small business grant. This is because the complaint is late and there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Mar 2022
21-010-238 — City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
Summary: We have discontinued our investigation about the Council’s decision to refuse the complainant’s business rates relief under the expanded retail discount scheme, and a grant under the retail, hospitality and leisure scheme, because his complaint is late. There was no fault in the Council’s decision the business is not …
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Not Upheld
Mar 2022
21-008-940 — Harlow District Council
Summary: Mrs X complained the Council refused her businesses grants, did not address her complaint properly and reported inaccurately on finances. We did not investigate the Council’s reporting as there is a more appropriate body. We found fault in the Council’s communications with Mrs X that did not affect its …
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Upheld
Mar 2022
21-004-717 — Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council
Summary: Mrs X complained the Council wrongly refused COVID-19 business grants, causing financial hardship. There was fault in the way the Council considered whether the business was a restaurant or takeaway. It also failed to consider whether the fact the business operated from a food court meant it was eligible …
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Upheld
Mar 2022
21-007-328 — Transport for London
Summary: Company X has made a complaint in relation to Transport for London’s decision to not pay a grant under the Mayor of London’s Scrappage Scheme. Company X says TfL has refused to make a grant payment due to it not satisfying the evidence requirements in time and in accordance …
LGO (Local Government & …
Transport And Highways
Upheld
Mar 2022
21-005-392 — City of Wolverhampton Council
Summary: Mr X complained the Council wrongly refused his business a COVID-19 business grant, causing financial difficulties. We will not investigate this complaint as we have not seen evidence of fault in how the Council determined Mr X’s application.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Mar 2022
21-011-768 — Harlow District Council
Summary: Miss X complained the Council unfairly refused her a business grant and was poor in its communications, causing financial loss and distress. We find no evidence of fault by the Council.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Not Upheld
Mar 2022
21-011-236 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk Council
Summary: There was no fault in how the Council considered an application for business rates relief under the expanded retail discount scheme. Although the complainant disagrees with the Council’s view, the Council was entitled to make the decision it did, and we have no grounds to criticise it. We have …
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Not Upheld
Mar 2022
22-000-226 — West Northamptonshire Council
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to award him a COVID-19 business grant. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Apr 2022
21-017-995 — Royal Borough of Greenwich
Summary: There was no fault in how the Council considered a sports club’s application to the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme. We have therefore completed our investigation.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Not Upheld
Jun 2022
21-016-865 — Manchester City Council
Summary: Mr X complained the Council refused his business a Restart Grant and retail rates relief, causing financial loss. We found no fault in the Council’s decision making process.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Not Upheld
Jun 2022
21-015-824 — London Borough of Haringey
Summary: Mr X complained the Council delayed deciding on his eligibility for business rates’ relief resulting in his missing out on a business grant. We found fault in the Council’s actions causing Mr X injustice. We recommended the Council apologise to Mr X, pay him £300 for time and trouble, …
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Upheld
Jun 2022
22-003-735 — Darlington Borough Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about eligibility for the hardship support fund. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Jul 2022
22-000-387 — Leicester City Council
Summary: Mr X complained the Council wrongly refused to pay him a Small Business Grant causing financial difficulties. We found no fault in the Council’s decision making that affected the outcome, but we found fault in its communications. We recommended the Council provide an apology to Mr X, pay him …
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Upheld
Sep 2022
22-003-088 — Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
Summary: There was no fault in the Council’s decision it wrongly paid COVID-19 business support grants to the complainant’s business, nor that it should now seek recovery. There is also no evidence the Council told the complainant it had awarded his business the expanded retail discount. We have therefore completed …
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Not Upheld
Nov 2022
23-018-768 — Leicester City Council
Summary: Mrs B says the Council wrongly refused to pay towards the cost of an extension as part of a disabled facilities grant application after completing an inaccurate means test. There is no evidence of fault in how the Council reached its decision. The Council failed to properly explain a …
LGO (Local Government & …
Adult Care Services
Upheld
Aug 2024
24-018-264 — Nottinghamshire County Council
Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the installation of external insulation under a government grant scheme. This complaint which was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.
LGO (Local Government & …
Housing
Mar 2025
25-004-631 — Cornwall Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the assessment and management of Mr X’s Town Deal grant application. The law does not allow us to investigate the complaint against the Town Deal board. The complaint against the Council is late and there is no good reason to investigate it …
LGO (Local Government & …
Other Categories
Aug 2025
21-013-458 — Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mr X’s application for a test and trace support payment. There is not enough injustice to Mr X for the Ombudsman to devote time and public money to investigating.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Jan 2022
21-008-503 — Cheltenham Borough Council
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint that the Council wrongly refused her application for a COVID-19 business grant. This is because there is no evidence of fault affecting its decision.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Feb 2022