Guidance

DHSC guidance on laying annual reports and accounts before Parliament

Updated 19 March 2026

Introduction

This guidance applies to Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) group bodies required to lay their annual report and accounts (ARA) before Parliament. This includes:

• NHS foundation trusts
• DHSC agencies
• special health authorities
• DHSC non-departmental public bodies, including NHS England
• the core department

It does not include:

• NHS trusts
• integrated care boards
• consolidated limited companies
• NHS charities

Statutory requirements

You must lay your ARA, with any report of the auditor on them, before both Houses of Parliament.

The ARA that you lay before Parliament must:

• include the full statutory accounts, not summarised information
• be presented as one document (even if created from 2 electronic files)
• be in its final form before laying - you cannot change it afterwards

What you must publish and when

Do not publish anything until Parliament has confirmed your ARA has been laid. Any online version of the full ARA must be identical to the laid version.

Once your ARA has been laid, you can choose to publish a condensed performance report with supplementary material instead of publishing the full ARA on your website. Do not include the phrase ‘presented to Parliament pursuant to…’ in any condensed report.

How to lay your paper in Parliament

The DHSC Parliamentary Affairs and Intelligence team lays all reports on behalf of DHSC group bodies using the e-laying process. They also prepare the laying letters.

You must prepare and submit your documents following:

• this guidance
• the Parliament Guide to laying papers
• Parliamentary papers guidance from the National Archives

How to prepare your documents

Formatting requirements

Your ARA must follow the standard format in paragraphs 3.53 to 3.54 of the Parliament Guide to laying papers. Parliament updates this guidance annually.

Your document must:

• be A4 size in portrait orientation (tables can be landscape if necessary, but do not produce the whole document in landscape)
• be clearly legible with a minimum font size of 10 point
• include front and back covers
• include the title page and reverse title page with the required presentation lines (see paragraphs 3.18 to 3.24 and 3.58 to 3.60 of the Guide to laying papers)

You can use black and white to reduce costs. If you use colour, make sure:

• graphical information has enough contrast to be readable
• text on title pages and copyright statements has enough contrast against the background

Parliament will reject reports that do not meet these formatting requirements. In such cases, you will need to submit a revised PDF.

Page order and structure

Your report must have:

• front and back covers
• a blank inside cover after the front cover
• a blank inside cover before the back cover

Order your pages as follows:

1. Front cover
2. Inside cover (blank)
3. Title page
4. Copyright statement page
5. Contents page

Page numbering

Start page numbering from the title page, but do not make page numbers visible until the contents page. In a standard paper, the contents page is page 3.

Do not include page numbers (or page running headers or footers) on:

• the front and back covers
• the blank inside covers
• the title page
• the copyright statement page

Title page requirements

Your title page must include, in this order:

• the full statutory name of your organisation in plain text (not as a logo)
• the title of the document and the reporting period (see 3.60(c) of the Guide to laying papers) (for example, ‘Annual Report and Accounts 2025 to 2026’)

Additional requirements for NHS foundation trusts

Add this presentation line:

Presented to Parliament pursuant to Schedule 7, paragraph 25 (4) (a) of the National Health Service Act 2006

Additional requirements for DHSC arm’s length bodies (ALBs)

Add the relevant presentation line for your organisation:

Presented to Parliament pursuant to Section XX of the [name of applicable act of Parliament]

Check the presentation line is correct as some papers are only required to be laid before the Commons.

If your paper is being laid as a House of Commons Paper (with an HC number), then below the presentation line, add:

Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on [date, in format DD month YYYY]

Add the House of Commons (HC) number on a separate line below this.

HC number placement

Add the HC number:

• towards the bottom left of both the front cover and the title page
• in at least 10 point font (12 point or larger is better)
• preceded by ‘HC’, with a space between this prefix and the number

If your organisation has changed its name

If your organisation changed its name after the reporting period ended, use the name that was in place at the end of the reporting period. Add an extra line: “From [date] now known as [new name]”.

Title page restrictions

Do not combine the title page with the contents page or preface. Do not include any other text, images, page numbers or headers and footers.

The title of the paper must be identical on both the front cover and title page. You can add a short slogan on the front cover, using a font size of 10 point.

Copyright statement page (reverse title page)

For DHSC ALBs

Include the following on your reverse title page:

• copyright re-use statement with year of publication (this will be supplied by the contractor, or you can find it on the National Archives website)
• Open Government Licence (OGL) symbol directly above the copyright statement
• International Standard Book Number (ISBN) below the OGL symbol (this will be supplied by the contractor)
• contact details for your ALB
• recycled paper statement
• any third-party copyright acknowledgements
• ‘Printed in the UK’ statement

Do not include images, colour fills, page numbers or headers and footers.

You must make the publication available on the GOV.UK Official documents page.

For NHS foundation trusts

Add your copyright text at the bottom of the reverse title page in at least 10 point font. For example: “© 2025 [trust name] NHS Foundation Trust”.

Other formatting rules

You must:

• not use colour fills on title and copyright pages
• include a contents page (do not combine it with other information)
• leave the inside front and back covers blank (white) with no text or images
• make sure auditor certificates are signed and dated
• include page numbers of audit reports in the contents page
• not include page numbers, headers or footers on the covers and blank inside covers, the title page or copyright page
• make tables, graphs and infographics legible at a minimum resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi)
• not include scans - the text of the PDF must be selectable and searchable for accessibility purposes

When you can lay your ARA

Submit your ARA to the Parliamentary Affairs and Intelligence Team with enough time for laying. Laying in good time allows for Parliamentary scrutiny.

You can submit your ARA before the deadline. You are responsible for making sure your ARA is laid.

Parliament can only lay papers on days when both Houses sit. Papers cannot be laid:

• when either House is adjourned
• when Parliament is prorogued or dissolved
• on Fridays (except when Private Members’ bills are taken)

Submission process for NHS foundation trusts

Step 1: send your report

Check that the format of your report meets the above criteria before sending.

Send a PDF copy of your report to the NHS foundation trust reports mailbox at nhsftreports@dhsc.gov.uk with:

• your full contact details (email address and direct phone number)
• the subject line: “[your organisation name] for checking”

Before sending, check you can answer ‘yes’ to all questions in the checklist at the end of this guidance.

Step 2: wait for confirmation

The team will confirm whether your format is acceptable.

Step 3: submit your final version

Email the final print-ready PDF to the NHS foundation trust reports mailbox with the subject line: “[your organisation name] final version”

Step 4: laying

The Parliamentary Affairs and Intelligence Team will usually lay your report within a few days. This may take longer during busy periods.

Step 5: confirm laying

Check the Parliament website to confirm your ARA has been laid. Go to the Commons business papers page for Commons Votes and Proceedings and the House of Lords business page for Lords Minutes of Proceedings (go to the next sitting day after your paper was laid on the Lords website).

NHS foundation trusts submission checklist

Before submitting, check that:

• your report is in portrait orientation (tables can be landscape)
• the title page contains only:
  • your statutory name
  • the document title
  • the presentation line for the National Health Service Act 2006
• you have used Arial 14 point for all title page text
• the title page has no other text or images
• there are no headers, footers or page numbers on the:
  • front and back covers
  • blank inside covers
  • title page
  • copyright page
• the ARA includes all required elements (for example, the auditor’s report with page number in the contents)
• all infographics and graphs have clear, readable text
• the reverse of the title page shows: “©[year] [trust name] NHS Foundation Trust” (in at least 10 point font)
• all year references in the ARA, cover and copyright text are correct
• the title is identical on the front cover and title page in minimum font size of 10 point
• the inside front and back covers are blank
• the back cover has no substantive text

Submission process for DHSC ALBs

Step 1: arrange a laying date

Contact the DHSC Parliamentary team to agree a laying date.

Step 2: get an HC number

Email the Journal Office at journaloffice@parliament.uk in the House of Commons to request an HC number.

Use the subject line: “HC number request from [your organisation name]”.

In your email, include the date you intend to lay the document.

For urgent requests, call the Journal Office on 020 7219 3361 or 020 7219 3252.

If your laying date changes, tell the Journal Office and the DHSC Parliamentary team.

Step 3: produce your document

Contact HH Global (the Lot 1 provider for the Managed Print and Digital Solutions framework) about producing and distributing your paper.

You can produce the document yourself, but HH Global can make sure it meets formatting requirements. If you produce it in-house, ask the Journal Office to check the formatting.

The HH Global distribution service includes:

• an ISBN for your ARA
• guidance on reverse title page content

Step 4: submit your final version

Send a PDF (in the format required by 3.54 of the Guide to laying papers) to the DHSC Parliamentary team mailbox pait.parly@dhsc.gov.uk, ideally the day before laying.

You must also send a large print version in 20 point Arial font. This version does not need to be published.

Step 5: confirm laying

Check the Parliament website to confirm your ARA has been laid.

Step 6: arrange for the ARA to be published on GOV.UK

You must ensure that your ARA is published on GOV.UK. If your organisation does not publish material on GOV.UK, speak to your sponsorship team to arrange for publication through the DHSC content and publishing team.

DHSC ALBs submission checklist

Before submitting, check that:

• your report is in portrait orientation (tables can be landscape)
• the title page contains only:
  • your statutory name
  • the document title
  • the presentation line for your paper, citing the authorising act of Parliament, and on a new line the printing order, “Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on [date, in format DD month YYYY]”
  • the HC number
• the title page has no other text or images
• there are no headers, footers or page numbers on the:
  • front and back covers
  • blank inside covers
  • title page
  • copyright page
• the ARA includes all required elements (for example, the auditor’s report with page number in the contents)
• all infographics and graphs have clear, readable text
• the reverse of the title page has the correct copyright text (the publication must also be available at the GOV.UK official documents page)
• all year references in the ARA, cover and copyright text are correct
• the title is identical on the front cover and title page in minimum font size of 10 point
• the inside front and back covers are blank
• the back cover has no substantive text

Contact

For questions about this guidance, email pait.parly@dhsc.gov.uk.