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Fiscal Risks and Sustainability

HM Treasury is addressing long-term fiscal sustainability and hidden financial risks in public finances, particularly around pension liabilities, climate change impacts, and rising health spending pressures. The Fiscal Risks and Sustainability Report (published by the Office for Budget Responsibility) identifies emerging threats to fiscal stability, with Treasury responses outlining mitigation strategies and improved financial disclosure through the Whole of Government Accounts.

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Family: Scrutiny and evidence
19 Mar 2025 | Written evidence linked

We challenged the Treasury over the difficulty that an ordinary reader would have understand the actual movement in large liabilities from year to year.58 Written evidence received from Professor David Heald also noted that the recent volatility of the discount rate used in the valuation of assets and liabilities had made changes in WGA Net Liabilities difficult to interpret.59 51 Q 3 52 Q 4 53 WGA 2022–23 pp68–69 54 Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Annual Report and Accounts 2022–23 p143; M...

We challenged the Treasury over the difficulty that an ordinary reader would have understand the actual movement in large liabilities from year to year.58 Written evidence received from Professor David Heald also noted that the recent volatility of the discount …

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19 Mar 2025 | Written evidence linked

We received written evidence from the ICAEW which states that the significant reduction in pensions liabilities presented within the 2022–23 WGA is the most significant change in the balance sheet for the government, and is primarily due to actuarial assumptions, particularly discount rates. It stressed that such a reduction does not represent a windfall to the exchequer, as it does not impact pension entitlements in cash terms. The actual obligation for the government to pay future pensioner...

We received written evidence from the ICAEW which states that the significant reduction in pensions liabilities presented within the 2022–23 WGA is the most significant change in the balance sheet for the government, and is primarily due to actuarial assumptions, …

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19 Mar 2025 | Written evidence linked

Written evidence we received from the ICAEW stressed that, in the absence of discount rates noted in earlier sections, the UK government had a deficit of £200 billion in 2022–23. The ICAEW noted that this deficit is more than 20% of the revenue the UK government received in 2022–23 (£975 billion) and that this deficit is greater than that reported in the National Accounts (£77 billion), as the WGA includes longer term financial liabilities that the government incurs. It stressed the need for ...

Written evidence we received from the ICAEW stressed that, in the absence of discount rates noted in earlier sections, the UK government had a deficit of £200 billion in 2022–23. The ICAEW noted that this deficit is more than 20% …

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26 Jan 2024 | Written evidence linked

The WGA offers an important tool not only for managing public finances but for ensuring transparency and accountability.12 We received written evidence from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), which told us that the WGA is uniquely positioned to provide an overview of public sector spending, and how the public sector’s financial landscape is evolving. We also received written evidence from the University of Glasgow, which told us that timeliness is essential w...

The WGA offers an important tool not only for managing public finances but for ensuring transparency and accountability.12 We received written evidence from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), which told us that the WGA is …

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26 Jan 2024 | Written evidence linked

HM Treasury also increased the use of unaudited data—data which has been audited only for presentation in the individual entity’s own accounts, rather than in OSCAR II format—in the 2020–21 WGA. We received written evidence from the ICAEW, which told us that the use of incompletely audited draft account data would almost certainly have led to the C&AG further qualifying his opinion on the 2020–21 WGA for a lack of assurance over the local authorities and other public bodies concerned. The ICA...

HM Treasury also increased the use of unaudited data—data which has been audited only for presentation in the individual entity’s own accounts, rather than in OSCAR II format—in the 2020–21 WGA. We received written evidence from the ICAEW, which told …

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26 Jan 2024 | Written evidence linked

Given the potential for the WGA to be an important and really useful document about public spending, we asked the Treasury how it could help Parliamentarians and members of the public to understand the WGA and its implications. The ICAEW suggested that that it would be beneficial to hold events additional to our annual evidence session, to 49 WGA0002 Written evidence from ICAEW: The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, 10 November 2023 50 Committee of Public Accounts, Whol...

Given the potential for the WGA to be an important and really useful document about public spending, we asked the Treasury how it could help Parliamentarians and members of the public to understand the WGA and its implications. The ICAEW …

▤ View document · ↗ GOV.UK