A new National Audit Office (NAO) report has revealed for the first time how risks such as flooding and overheating could affect public services including transport, health and prisons, prompting Adrian Ramsay MP to renew his call for a Number 10 for the Future to drive climate resilience across Government.
The NAO examined the climate-related financial disclosures of 31 public bodies and found a mixed picture of the Government's resilience. It found that 89% of prisons were disclosed as being at high risk of flooding and 71% at high risk of overheating, potentially endangering the health and safety of staff and prisoners.
Adrian Ramsay MP, Environment spokesperson for Green MPs said:
"I warned over the summer about the unique risks overheating poses in hospitals, prisons and schools, and now the NAO report confirms it. When most prisons are at high risk of overheating, and public bodies are still struggling to explain what climate risks mean for the services people rely on, it is clear the Government is not prepared.
"This comes against the backdrop of the Climate Change Committee's landmark report, 'A Well-Adapted UK', which lays out a pathway for how our infrastructure can adapt to the changing climate. Ministers need to take climate action with the seriousness it deserves.
"The NAO's report also reaffirms my call for a Number 10 for the Future, focusing central government's attention on long-term risks and planning climate resilience across departments, local authorities and public bodies. Without that central grip, we will keep drifting from one summer to the next."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
· The NAO report, Government's climate risk: insights from 2025-26 disclosures, is available at https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/governments-climate-risk-insights-from-2025-26-disclosures/
· HM Treasury has mandated climate-related reporting for larger central government bodies, and from the 2025-26 financial year their annual reports must publish the impacts, timelines and costs of significant climate-related risks.
· The NAO found that most disclosures did not include enough targets or measures to judge how effectively bodies are managing climate-related risks.
· Adrian has also proposed a dedicated Climate Adaptation Unit based in Number 10 to coordinate the Government's response to climate risks.
