The Nationwide Audit Workplace has issued certified opinions on the Ministry of Defence’s 2024–25 accounts, citing lacking data for main capital initiatives and a cloth shortfall of £2.56 billion in provisions for authorized and different liabilities.
The NAO discovered that the MoD was unable to supply accounting proof for a big portion of initiatives undertaken by the Atomic Weapons Institution (AWE), a non-departmental public physique accountable for elements of the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
As of 31 March 2025, AWE initiatives represented £6.13 billion of the MoD’s property below building, together with £1.5 billion in “legacy initiatives” which have remained unchanged for a number of years.
Auditors mentioned the MoD couldn’t exhibit that the continued recognition of those mission prices was acceptable, and that different balances inside the £6.13 billion appeared to not meet accounting requirements. In consequence, Comptroller and Auditor Basic Gareth Davies restricted the scope of his audit opinion on the division’s 2024–25 monetary statements.
The watchdog additionally recognized a £2.56 billion shortfall in provisions recognised within the MoD’s 2023–24 accounts, linked to private damage claims and resettlement prices below the Afghan Relocations and Help Coverage (ARAP) and the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR). These omissions required the restatement of final yr’s accounts and led to a certified regularity opinion on account of unauthorised expenditure.
The NAO mentioned the MoD had not briefed auditors in regards to the 2022 knowledge breach that triggered the ARR scheme till a super-injunction was lifted in July 2025, stopping scrutiny in the course of the 2023–24 audit. The MoD has since begun work with AWE to evaluation its £6.13 billion mission ledger, which the NAO will study as a part of its 2025–26 audit.
The Nationwide Audit Workplace made clear that its findings level to severe weaknesses within the MoD’s monetary administration and record-keeping for long-term capital and authorized obligations.