Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), said despite ‘two decades' worth of warnings, we still appear to be worlds away from Government or NHS engaging with the underlying causes of this issue'.

Sir Geoffrey said the ‘overall picture is of a system struggling to keep its patients safe from avoidable harm'.

In a hard hitting report, the MPs said claimant legal fees had more than tripled to £538m in 2024-25, while claims with damages of £25k or less cost far more in fees than victims receive, with a cost-to-damages ratio of 3.7 to 1.

The MPs said the Government's previous plans to limit the amount paid to lawyers in lower-value cases were not implemented as planned two years ago and urged the DHSC to develop an alternative mechanism to speed up decisions and reduce costs for these cases.

The report warned recent increases in settlement costs (tripling to £3.6bn in '24-'25) are likely to rise significantly to over £4bn/yr by the end of the decade.

Finally, the report notes the absurdity of claims being settled on the basis of how much a victim's would cost in the private sector, which stem from a law in 1948.

The PAC called for within two months of their report: an operational plan from Government to tackle clinical negligence; a national framework for improving patient safety with clear annual improvement targets; and a national system for sharing data between NHS trusts.

Reaction

Dr Hannah Allen, UK GP and chief medical officer at Heidi, said: ‘The committee is right that the NHS has a plethora of data and no information. If we want a meaningful national patient safety framework and better use of data, we have to start with clear, accurate, consistent documentation of everyday care.'

Dr Pallavi Bradshaw, medical director at Medical Protection Society, said: ‘At a time when NHS finances are under strain, and there is much to be done to transform patient care and services, the Government simply cannot afford to do nothing. A comprehensive strategy - which balances fair compensation for patients and affordability for the NHS - is urgently needed following David Lock KC's review.'

Thomas Reynolds, director of policy and communications at the MDU, said: ‘Decades of inaction on clinical negligence has allowed costs to balloon, so we are pleased to see that MPs are putting pressure on Government to act. This is a chance to put an end to the millions of pounds being unnecessarily diverted from frontline patient care. We‘ll be following next steps closely to ensure the Government sticks to the timetable that's been set out and finally shifts the dial on this issue.'