# When it goes wrong url: https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/when-it-goes-wrong/ updated: 29 September 2026 licence: Our words, analysis, charts and derived calculations: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). Figures: each source's own licence, listed under Sources. publisher: [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk) # When it goes wrong Last updated 29 September 2026. Figures refresh every night. [How each figure is worked out](/methodology/). The official record of where public money goes wrong: in March 2026 the government’s own assessors rated **24 of 189 major projects red**, the lowest of its three ratings; the Public Sector Fraud Authority estimates fraud and error in government at **£51.3bn to £81.0bn** a year (2022/23); departments disclose their losses and special payments in their accounts; IPSA publishes every MP’s costs; and departments publish every contract they award. Each figure here is the publisher’s own. ## Key figures - 24Major projects rated red ▲ March 2026 - £51.3bn to £81.0bnEstimated fraud and error in government £39.8bn to £58.5bn in 2021/22 2022/23 - £98,599An MP’s basic salary from April 2026 ▲ - £289.01bnContract awards published by departments £46.97bn in 2024-25; one framework notice can dominate a year 2025-26 ## What is the short version? - **The ratings are the government’s own:** red, amber and green are its assessors’ delivery confidence ratings, not this site’s verdict. - **Fraud and error is an estimate, published as a range,** because most of it is never detected; £1.7bn was detected and reported in 2023/24. - **Write-offs are not added up or ranked:** departments count cases differently and report for different boundaries. - **An MP’s office costs are not their pay:** £275,197 on average in 2024-25 for MPs who served the whole year, most of it staff salaries. - **Contract values are what the notices state,** not money paid; a framework notice can be the most that might ever be spent under it. ## What does the latest record show? **Independent delivery confidence ratings, March 2026** - ◆ Red 30% 24 of 81 - Amber 63% 51 of 81 - Green 7.4% 6 of 81 Shares of the 81 projects with an independent rating, out of 189 in the portfolio. Red is the lowest of the three ratings. **Show as a table** | Item | Share | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | | RedDetails | 29.6% | 24 of 81 | | Detail24 of 81 | | | | AmberDetails | 63.0% | 51 of 81 | | Detail51 of 81 | | | | GreenDetails | 7.4% | 6 of 81 | | Detail6 of 81 | | | £51.3bn to £81.0bn Fraud and error in government in 2022/23, as the Public Sector Fraud Authority estimates it, including tax and welfare. [How the estimate is made](/fraud-error-and-write-offs/). ## What is in this part of the site? - [Major projectsHow the government rates its own biggest projects, and what they are expected to cost.](/government-major-projects/) - [Fraud, error and write-offsEstimates of fraud and error, and the losses and special payments departments disclose.](/fraud-error-and-write-offs/) - [MPs’ pay and expensesWhat each MP’s office costs, by heading, with a postcode lookup.](/mps-pay-and-expenses/) - [Government contractsContracts awarded by departments, by department and supplier.](/government-contracts/) ## What has the National Audit Office reported lately? The NAO’s latest value-for-money reports, each linked to its findings in full. Titles are the NAO’s own. - 11 September 2026[Upgrading the electricity transmission network](https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/upgrading-the-electricity-transmission-network/) Value for money report - 9 September 2026[Managing the flow of patients through hospital from A&E](https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/managing-the-flow-of-patients-through-hospital-from-ae/) Value for money report - 4 September 2026[Resilience of the food supply chain to disruptions](https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/resilience-of-the-food-supply-chain-to-disruptions/) Value for money report - 13 July 2026[Increasing construction skills](https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/increasing-construction-skills/) Value for money report - 10 July 2026[Electronic monitoring: improving resilience to meet increasing demand](https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/electronic-monitoring-improving-resilience-to-meet-increasing-demand/) Value for money report - 1 July 2026[Devolution in England: funding and accountability](https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/devolution-in-england-funding-and-accountability/) Value for money report - 29 June 2026[High Speed Two reset](https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/high-speed-two-reset/) Value for money report - 26 June 2026[The repurchase of the service family accommodation estate](https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/the-repurchase-of-the-service-family-accommodation-estate/) Value for money report - 24 June 2026[HMRC’s use of travel data to tackle fraud and error in Child Benefit payments](https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/hmrcs-use-of-travel-data-to-tackle-fraud-and-error-in-child-benefit-payments/) Value for money report - 19 June 2026[The Government Finance Function’s strategy to 2030](https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/the-government-finance-functions-strategy-to-2030/) Value for money report - 17 June 2026[Investigation into the financial sustainability of the British Council](https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/investigation-into-the-financial-sustainability-of-the-british-council/) Value for money report - 15 June 2026[Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster: 2026 Update](https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/restoration-and-renewal-of-the-palace-of-westminster-2026-update/) Value for money report Source: [National Audit Office, Reports](https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/), latest reports. ## What has the Public Accounts Committee reported lately? The Commons committee that examines the NAO’s reports and questions officials on them. Its latest reports: - 18 September 2026[15th Report - Government's intervention in British Steel Ltd](https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/55075/) HC HC 101, 2026-27 - 11 September 2026[13th Report - Regulation of water, energy and broadband](https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/54964/) HC HC 105, 2026-27 - 9 September 2026[12th Report - Government compensation schemes](https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/54849/) HC HC 88, 2026-27 - 17 July 2026[11th Report - Unlocking land for housing](https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/54344/) HC HC 87, 2026-27 - 15 July 2026[10th Report - Government shared services](https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/54217/) HC HC 85, 2026-27 - 10 July 2026[9th Report - Large business tax compliance](https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/54140/) HC HC 86, 2026-27 - 1 July 2026[8th Report - Northern Powerhouse Rail](https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/53897/) HC HC 97, 2026-27 - 24 June 2026[7th Report - Financial resilience of government-sponsored museums and galleries](https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/53768/) HC HC 96, 2026-27 - 12 June 2026[6th Report - The Access to Work scheme](https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/53578/) HC HC 92, 2026-27 - 10 June 2026[4th Report - Regulating for growth](https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/53523/) HC HC 93, 2026-27 - 7 June 2026[5th Report - MoD follow-up Spring 2026](https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/53461/) HC HC 95, 2026-27 - 5 June 2026[1st Report - An analysis of the asylum system](https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/53438/) HC HC 89, 2026-27 Source: [Public Accounts Committee, House of Commons, Committee reports](https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/127/public-accounts-committee/publications/), latest reports. ## How are these figures chosen? Only published figures from the body responsible for them: the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and its successor for project ratings, each department’s accounts for its losses, the Public Sector Fraud Authority, DWP and HMRC for fraud and error, IPSA for MPs, and departments’ own award notices for contracts. Where this site adds anything, such as a total or an average, the page says so. It does not describe any project, department or person in its own words. How each figure is worked out is on the [methodology page](/methodology/#when-it-goes-wrong). ## Related pages - [Next in this section: The government’s major projects](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/government-major-projects/) - [Who does the government give its contracts to?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/government-contracts/) - [How does my council compare with others?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/councils/map/) - [Where does my tax money actually go?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/for-every-100-pounds-of-tax/) ## More from this publisher - [UK tax calculators](https://howlongisit.co.uk) Published by [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). Our words, analysis, charts and derived calculations: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). The figures belong to the publishers listed under Sources and are used under their licences. Figures last updated 29 September 2026.