National Savings and Investments

Torsten Bell Excerpts

Wednesday 4th November 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Torsten Bell)]

On 19 May 2026 I updated Parliament on the steps being taken by National Savings and Investments to address historical failures in the handling of some bereavement claims and the remediation scheme established to reunite affected estates with funds that should have been returned earlier—HCWS44. I reported that up to 34,000 estates had been affected by this issue, with a total value of £367 million.

The Treasury instructed NS&I to put this right swiftly and fairly, requiring a delivery plan detailing how they intended to do so to be published in May¹. It also appointed Sir Jim Harra, former first permanent secretary at HM Revenue and Customs, to take over as chief executive of NS&I on an interim basis, to provide a fresh start. Today, NS&I has provided an update on its delivery of its remediation programme, which it will continue to do on a quarterly basis until completion².

As detailed in its update, NS&I has continued to analyse its data to establish how many estates have been affected by its bereavement claims issue. As such, the total number of estates affected has fallen to 30,300 cases, with a total value of approximately £181.9 million. Of these, NS&I is in the process of contacting all affected estates with holdings of £10 or more to reunite them with the full value of their holdings that should have been returned to them earlier and to compensate them. As reported in the update, this will see up to 15,600 estates with a total value of up to £181.83 million contacted.

The remediation programme remains underway, and NS&I continues to expect to complete this programme in the first half of 2027.

In addition, I have today laid NS&I’s annual report and accounts and product accounts 2025-26—HC 703. Alongside this, NS&I is also publishing an accounting officer assessment relating to its transformation programme³.

The annual report and accounts include a provision for the estimated costs of the remediation scheme. As the issue emerged after the supplementary estimate process had concluded, NS&I was unable to seek sufficient additional provision through that process. As a consequence, the Comptroller and Auditor General has issued an excess vote qualification on the accounts.

Today’s publications also provide an update on NS&I’s transformation programme. An updated business case setting out the delivery of a simplified solution has now been approved, and NS&I has published an accompanying accounting officer assessment setting out the rationale for proceeding with the revised approach and the steps being taken to address issues identified by independent reviews, the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee. To increase its oversight of the programme, the Treasury has established a sponsor and oversight board that will act as the principal governance forum for considering and determining material programme trade-offs affecting cost, timelines, scope and benefits, and will provide Ministers with an assurance that the programme remains on track.

NS&I continues to be key to the Government debt financing programme. However, this has been a challenging year for the organisation. As I committed to the House, NS&I’s interim chief executive, Sir Jim Harra, has undertaken a review into the background to the bereavement claims issue and what lessons must be learned. That review will be published by the end of the calendar year. I have also appointed Luke Jensen as permanent chair of the NS&I board, further strengthening the organisation’s leadership and oversight as it delivers its priorities.

¹https://www.nsandi.com/about-us/press-releases/2026/nsi-bereavement-claims-delivery-plan

²https://www.nsandi.com/about-us/press-releases/2026/nsi-bereavement-claims-quarterly-update

³https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-major-projects-portfolio-accounting-officer-assessment-nsi

[HCWS453]