In this section: Hold them to account
Hold them to account
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
The official record, each figure from the body that publishes it: the government's own ratings of its major projects, fraud and error, departmental write-offs, every MP's office costs, and the fines the state imposes, from speeding to HMRC penalties, with where the money legally goes. Council report cards are on each council's page in Your area. Right now, motoring fixed penalty notices a year is 4,375,421 (1 January 2024), and court fines imposed a year is £341m (6 April 2025).
Figure as of 1 January 2024. Source: Home Office, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, HM Revenue and Customs.
Key figures
- 4,375,421Motoring fixed penalty notices a year up on a year earlier: +328,167 (+8.1%) vs 1 January 2023
- £341mCourt fines imposed a year up on a year earlier: +£25m (+7.7%) vs 2024–25
- 7.75%HMRC late payment interest rate down on a year earlier: −0.25 pts (−3.1%) vs 29 September 2025
Sources: Home Office, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, HM Revenue and Customs.
Every page in hold them to account
When it goes wrong
- When it goes wrong Major projects ratings, fraud and error, losses and write-offs, MPs’ pay and costs, and contracts: the official record. 24 red Major projects rated red, March 2026
- The government’s major projects Delivery confidence ratings and whole-life costs for every major government project, year by year. 24 Major projects rated red, March 2026
- Fraud, error and write-offs Official estimates of fraud and error, and the losses and special payments departments disclose.
- Government spending over £25,000 Central government departments' published payments of £25,000 or more: searchable by department, with coverage and gaps. 17 Government departments whose spending over £25,000 is searchable here
MPs
- Every MP All 650 MPs, by name or constituency, each with a page of their office costs. 650 MPs, each with a page of their office costs
- The MP map Every constituency by party, and each MP’s office costs, on one map with a postcode search.
- MPs’ pay and expenses MPs’ salary and every MP’s business costs by heading, with a postcode lookup. £98,599 An MP’s basic salary
Fines
- Fines and penalties, and where the money goes Speeding, parking, road charges, HMRC penalties and court fines: what each raises and where the law sends it. Where fines go Speeding, parking, ULEZ, HMRC and court fines
- Speeding and other motoring fines 3,028,022 speeding offences a year, most caught on camera; fines go to the Treasury. 3,028,022 Speed limit offences, England and Wales, 2024
- Court fines: imposed, collected and outstanding £1.2bn of court fines outstanding; what is imposed, collected and where it goes. £1.2bn Court fines outstanding, England and Wales
- HMRC penalties and interest Late filing and payment penalties, interest rates, and how much HMRC collects and writes off. £100 For a Self Assessment return filed a day late
Sources for this page
| Source | Publisher | Figures as of | Updated | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Police powers and procedures: roads policing (fixed penalty notices for motoring offences) | Home Office | 1 January 2024 | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
| HMCTS Trust Statement 2025 to 2026 | HM Courts and Tribunals Service | 22 September 2026 | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
| HMRC interest rates for late and early payments | HM Revenue and Customs | 9 January 2026 | quarterly | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
Each source's figures are used under the licence shown. Our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, under CC BY 4.0.