Overview


What the recommendations tracker covers

This tracker brings together NAO recommendations published in our reports since 1 April 2019. The aim of the tracker is to increase transparency on the outcomes of our recommendations, and promote scrutiny and parliamentary accountability for government spending. We are publishing it in our role as the UK's independent public spending watchdog .

For recommendations published between 1 April 2019 and 30 September 2025, the tracker provides information on whether government has accepted the recommendations, and if so, the progress it has made with implementing the actions specified. For recommendations published between 1 October 2025 and 31 March 2026, the tracker includes descriptive data but may not include information on their acceptance or implementation.

We will update the tracker every six months.

How to use the recommendations tracker

The recommendations tracker contains data on recommendations, including whether government has accepted recommendations, the current state of implementation progress, and the departments or bodies responsible for implementation. The tracker is an interactive tool that allows you to explore the full dataset in several different ways.

By clicking the various Filter buttons, you can find recommendations by specifying the report they were published in, the departments or bodies involved, or the publication date. Results are shown in tabular form under the filter buttons.

Further filters allow you to refine the data by topic or sub-topic, or according to whether the recommendations have been accepted or implemented (further filters can be viewed by clicking the ‘Show further filters’ button on the tracker).

You can also use the Search function to search for specific words or terms in the text of the recommendation.

To view the full data set of recommendations published since 1 April 2019, you can click the ‘Clear all filters’ button on the tracker.

To download the full dataset or a selection of the data as an Excel file, you can click the ‘Export selection to Excel’ button on the tracker.

Accessibility

This tool uses third party software to present data in the form of an interactive table. The navigation is optimised for mouse use but supports keyboard functionality.

If you cannot access the data in this format (perhaps because it is not accessible to your assistive technology), data can be downloaded from the Tracker tab as an Excel spreadsheet (xlsx), to allow you to perform your own data analysis.

If you need additional help, you can phone the NAO Enquiries Point on +44(0)2077987264. Alternatively, you can email general enquiries to enquiries@nao.org.uk or use our online contact form.




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Table of recommendations

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Additional information


Definitions of data fields

The tracker includes the following data on each recommendation, to provide an up-to-date picture on progress with recommendations. In some cases (for example, recommendations published in recent months), data may not yet be available.

  • Report title
  • Report publication date
  • Report page and paragraph reference
  • Recommendation text
  • Department/body (the lead body primarily responsible for responding to or reporting progress against the recommendation, and additional bodies mentioned in the recommendation)
  • Topic (key areas or themes of focus for our studies: the list of topics is based on GOV.UK’s public-facing taxonomy; this is defined at the level of the overall report and is the same for all recommendations in a single report)
  • Sub-topic (areas and themes of study focus at a more detailed level: the list is a mix of both the GOV.UK sub-topic taxonomy, and from our own categorisations on our website; this is defined at the level of the overall report and is the same for all recommendations in a single report)
  • Acceptance (see below for definition)
  • Implementation (see below for definition)
  • Actual/expected implementation date (see below for definition)
  • NAO confirmation of implementation (see below for definition)


    • Acceptance status

    Response Definition
    Accepted The department/body agrees with all parts of the recommendation and undertakes to implement it fully.
    Partially accepted The department/body agrees with specified parts of the recommendation, but not all of it, and undertakes to implement the parts it agrees with.
    Or
    The department agrees with the recommendation with some modification, and undertakes to implement it accordingly.
    Rejected The department/body does not agree with the recommendation and does not undertake to implement it.
    Under consideration The department/body says it has not decided yet whether it accepts the recommendation or not.
    Or
    The department/body has provided no response to the NAO.


    Implementation status

    Data on implementation status have been provided for recommendations which are accepted or partially accepted. This is not relevant for recommendations that are rejected or still under consideration.

    Response Definition
    Implemented The department/body has implemented the recommendation actions. The department/body has adopted the good practice recommended.
    Work in progress The department/body has started work, including planning, to implement the recommendation actions it has accepted.
    Or
    The department/body is ready to implement the recommendation but has had no opportunity yet to demonstrate this.
    Work not yet started The department/body has not yet started work to implement the recommendation.
    No longer relevant The department/body has changed policy, and the recommendation no longer applies.
    Or
    The department/body has found another way to implement change which renders the original recommendation obsolete.
    Or
    The NAO has published a subsequent report with different recommendations.


    Actual/expected implementation date

    Data on actual/expected implementation date have been provided for recommendations which are implemented or work in progress. This is not applicable for recommendations that are considered no longer relevant in terms of their implementation status, or where the department has not yet started work to implement the recommendation.
    Note: where implementation is expected to be ongoing, e.g. for adoption of good practice, the date is an estimate of when adoption can be demonstrated.



    Response Definition
    Quarter of financial year (e.g. Q1 2023-24) For implemented recommendations: Date the recommendation was implemented. For work in progress recommendations: Date the department/body expects to complete or substantially complete implementation of the recommendation.
    Awaiting opportunity The department/body is ready to implement the recommendation and is awaiting an opportunity to do so (e.g. when the next major project is set up).
    Not completed The department/body has not provided an actual or expected implementation date.


    NAO confirmation of implementation status

    Response Definition
    Yes NAO confirms the implementation status reported by the department/body.
    Blank NAO has not been able to confirm the implementation status reported by the department/body. This is because evidence of implementation is either not yet available, has not yet been submitted, is incomplete or has not yet been reviewed.


    Where the information in the tracker comes from

    Data on report title, publication date, page and paragraph references, recommendation text and departments/bodies involved come from the published NAO reports.

    Data on topic and sub-topic are published on the NAO website as part of the report publication details, and are based on the standard categorisations used by the NAO. They are defined at the level of the overall report and are the same for all recommendations in a single report.

    Data on acceptance, implementation and actual/expected implementation date are provided by the relevant department/body.

    Data on NAO confirmation of implementation are determined by the NAO, based on evaluation of evidence provided by the relevant department/body.

    Issue with Actual / Expected Implementation Dates in previous versions of the tracker

    In previous updates of the tracker, the ‘Actual / Expected Implementation Date’ field was displayed incorrectly for some recommendations due to an error that occurred when uploading the data. This error affected around 300 recommendations and was corrected ahead of the March 2025 update.