Gareth Davies

Who Gareth Davies is

Gareth Davies is the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) and head of the National Audit Office (NAO), appointed on 1 June 2019 for a non-renewable ten-year term. As an Officer of the House of Commons, he leads the UK's independent public spending watchdog, which audits the financial accounts of all government departments and examines value for money in public spending. Before joining the NAO, he was Head of Public Services at Mazars and, prior to that, Managing Director of the Audit Commission's Audit Practice, giving him around three decades of public audit experience including NHS organisations and local authorities. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. In health and social care, he has issued audit opinions on the Department of Health and Social Care accounts, published multiple reports on NHS elective and cancer care backlogs, and called for longer-term financial solutions to NHS sustainability.

References for this biography

1. 1.Executive Team – National Audit Office — Confirms Davies's appointment as C&AG in June 2019, prior roles at Mazars and Audit Commission, and professional qualifications (CIPFA Fellow, ICAEW Fellow)
2. 2.Governance and transparency – National Audit Office — Confirms Davies is head of the NAO, is an Officer of the House of Commons, appointed 1 June 2019 for a 10-year term, and certifies government department accounts
3. 3.Department of Health & Social Care Accounts 2024-25 – NAO report — Confirms Davies issued a clean audit opinion on DHSC 2024-25 accounts, the first since 2018-19
4. 4.Department of Health and Social Care Accounts 2022-23 – NAO press release — Confirms Davies's concerns about NHS audit timeliness and the UKHSA accounts disclaimer; quotes him directly on NHS audit ecosystem
5. 5.Managing NHS backlogs and waiting times in England – NAO press release — Quotes Davies on NHS workforce shortages, inflationary pressures, and elective care recovery risks; confirms his health-sector public commentary
6. 6.NHS financial management and sustainability – NAO press release — Quotes Davies calling for longer-term financial solutions to NHS sustainability
7. 7.Press Office – National Audit Office — Provides organisational press office telephone number and email address
8. 8.Contact us – National Audit Office — Confirms NAO head office address: 157-197 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SP

Notable achievements

• Issued a clean audit opinion on the DHSC 2024-25 accounts — the first clean opinion since 2018-19. Source ↗
• Published 'NHS backlogs and waiting times in England' (December 2021), the first of a programme of NAO reports scrutinising elective and cancer care backlogs post-pandemic. Source ↗
• Disclaimed the UK Health Security Agency accounts for 2021-22 and qualified the DHSC consolidated accounts for 2022-23, raising concerns about NHS audit timeliness. Source ↗

What Gareth Davies has said

• “Despite significant efforts to improve A&E performance, patients continue to experience long waits and delays in care. NHS England and DHSC need to understand more fully why improvements have been slow and ensure successful approaches are adopted more consistently across the system.”

  Head of the National Audit Office · A&E & ambulance response · 30 Sept 2026 · More than 1.7m waited over 12 hours in A&E last year, bombshell report suggests ↗

• “Despite significant efforts to improve A&E performance, patients continue to experience long waits and delays in care. NHS England and DHSC need to understand more fully why improvements have been slow and ensure successful approaches are adopted more consistently across the system.”

  NAO head · A&E & ambulance response · 30 Sept 2026 · Few improvements in A&E ↗

• “Despite significant efforts to improve A&E performance, patients continue to experience long waits and delays in care. NHS England and DHSC need to understand more fully why improvements have been slow and ensure successful approaches are adopted more consistently across the system.”

  head of the NAO · A&E & ambulance response · 29 Sept 2026 · Percentage of people waiting 12 hours or more in A&E triples, report ↗

• “Despite significant efforts to improve A&E performance, patients continue to experience long waits and delays in care. NHS England and DHSC need to understand more fully why improvements have been slow and ensure successful approaches are adopted more consistently across the system.”

  Head of the NAO · A&E & ambulance response · 29 Sept 2026 · NHS recovery progress slower than expected despite rising investment, says NAO ↗

• “Despite significant efforts to improve A&E performance, patients continue to experience long waits and delays. NHS England and DHSC need to understand more fully why improvements have been slow and better and ensure successful approaches are adopted more consistently across the system.”

  NAO head · A&E & ambulance response · 10 Sept 2026 · NHS England’s billion pound investment in A&E ‘not fixing’ problems ↗

• “The Home Office, and departments, must make better use of data to understand the impacts of changes to the Skilled Worker visa route, improve customer experiences and prevent the exploitation of visa holders. Without this understanding, it cannot ensure value for money in managing the visa system.”

  Head of the NAO · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Changes to Skilled Worker visas need whole government collaboration, says report ↗

• “Despite progress in containing the number of clinical negligence claims in some specialities, the increasing cost of the small number of very high value claims is driving higher costs for taxpayers”

  head of the National Audit Office · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS medical negligence liabilities hit £60bn amid surge in maternity payouts ↗

• “The residential care system for looked-after children is currently not delivering value for money, with many children placed in settings that don't meet their needs.”

  head of the National Audit Office · Adult social care & reform · 27 Aug 2026 · Cost of place in children’s care homes in England hits almost £320,000 a year ↗

Where Gareth Davies has been quoted

1. NAO report warns NHS falling short on frailty care for older peoplenationalhealthexecutive.com · 30 Sept 2026
2. More than 1.7m waited over 12 hours in A&E last year, bombshell report suggestslbc.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
3. Few improvements in A&Ehealthcaretoday.com · 30 Sept 2026
4. Percentage of people waiting 12 hours or more in A&E triples, reporthealthcare-management.uk · 29 Sept 2026
5. NHS recovery progress slower than expected despite rising investment, says NAOnationalhealthexecutive.com · 29 Sept 2026
6. NHS England’s billion pound investment in A&E ‘not fixing’ problemsnursingtimes.net · 10 Sept 2026
7. Changes to Skilled Worker visas need whole government collaboration, says reportcarehomeprofessional.com · 8 Sept 2026
8. NHS medical negligence liabilities hit £60bn amid surge in maternity payoutstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
9. Cost of place in children’s care homes in England hits almost £320,000 a yeartheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• Emergency doctor 'completely terrified' of looming winter pressures on NHSBBC
• Death tax, dementia tax, no tax at all: Why England hasn’t fixed social careTheLead.uk
• Maryland Reform Act Keeps 26 Offenses in Adult Court, Advocates ConcernedDavis Vanguard

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.nao.org.uk/author/garethdavies/
• LinkedInhttps://uk.linkedin.com/in/gareth-davies-6330b232
• Press office emailpressoffice@nao.org.ukpublished here ↗
• Press office phone+44 (0)20 7798 7400published here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.