Committees

Government services: Identifying costs and generating income

Inquiry

The Committee (PAC) is holding an inquiry to look at government’s management of fees and charges to recover the costs of providing services and how government is identifying costs to sustainably improve productivity.  

Improved productivity is key to the government’s aims to improve the affordability of public services. Government’s roadmap for digital and data 2022-25 included an attempt to identify and quantify what is driving the cost of government’s services. Having a firm grip on the baseline costs of delivering an organisation's services is considered foundational in the private sector.  

The PAC reported in 2019 on the challenges in using data across government and found that a step-change in government’s approach to data was long overdue. It also found that a long-standing failure to improve the quality of data in government was leading to inadequate services and poor decision-making. 

Data on the drivers of cost in government’s services is important for identifying the potential for waste and prioritisation of transformation activities. The National Audit Office (NAO) has since reported in 2025 on progress since the PAC’s 2019 report. Following the NAO’s report, the PAC will hear from government officials from the Cabinet Office and the Government Finance Function as it scrutinises how government can better identify the costs of public services. 

The inquiry will also examine how, in delivering public services, some government bodies set and collect fees, charges and levies to recover costs or achieve other goals. The key guidance for managing these charges is laid out in HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money.   

The National Audit Office conducted a study – published in June 2025 – examining how effectively government adheres to Managing Public Money in implementing charges, identifying both good practice and areas of concern. The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee in 2024 looked at government fees charged without clear legal authority, with their report highlighting concerns around transparency. This is the first time the PAC has scrutinised fees and charges separately, and the Committee will hear from senior officials from the Treasury, Ministry of Justice and DVLA to take forward scrutiny informed by the NAO’s report. Likely case studies include provision of charges around passports, visas, Companies House fees, driving licence fees, data protection fees, court fees, and gambling licences.  

If you have evidence on these issues, please submit it here by 23:59 on Thursday 2 October 2025.

Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. You can request anonymity or confidentiality when you send evidence, but it is the Committee which decides what information to publish and how. It may treat submissions confidentially, even where you have not requested this. 

Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. 

If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues. 

On 10 July this inquiry’s name was changed from Government fees, charges and levies. 

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was 11:59pm on 2 October 2025.

Upcoming events

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Past events

Monday 20 October 2025
3:00pm Private
3:30pm Public
Government services: Identifying costs and generating income - Oral evidence 20 October 2025
3:30pm
  • Cat Little CB (Permanent Secretary at Cabinet Office)
  • Conrad Smewing (Director General, Public Spending at HMT and Joint-Head of the Government Finance Function at HM Treasury)
  • Andrew Cartner (Deputy Head of the Government Finance Function at HM Treasury)
  • Bonnie Wang (Director of Strategy and Assurance at DSIT)
The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Thursday 16 October 2025
9:30am Private
10:00am Public
Government services: Identifying costs and generating income - Oral evidence 16 October 2025
10:00am
  • James Bowler CB (Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury)
  • Nick Donlevy (Director of Public Spending at HM Treasury)
  • Tim Moss CBE (Chief Executive at Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency)
  • Farhad Chikhalia (Interim Director, Strategic Finance and Partnerships at Ministry of Justice)
  • Matthew Taylor (Director for Public Services at HM Treasury)
The Grimond Room, Portcullis House

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We receive a significant number of emails each day. All requests and invitations are considered but we do not respond directly to everyone. Please be aware, the committee does not look at individual cases or specific complaints.