Research and analysis

GAD client feedback - April 2025 to March 2026

Published 16 July 2026

I’m delighted to share the results of our latest client survey for the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD).

Having just completed the first year of our 2030 strategy, I am especially pleased to see there has been a positive response from clients to our new focus and approach. 97% of respondents agree that we are succeeding in our aim to unlock value in our core work, and 94% agree that we are making more impact on policy.

For the first time, this year’s results show that 100% of respondents have awarded us 4 or more stars for being highly valued.

Valuable insights

Client feedback is integral to reflecting on our achievements, identifying areas for improvement and informing our priorities.

The survey evaluates overall satisfaction, service levels, performance against our strategic goals and value for money perception. Along with the survey, GAD conducted in-depth interviews with a subset of clients to gather more specific feedback.

I am very proud that our client feedback results continue to be excellent and I am grateful to our clients for their participation in the surveys and interviews. These results highlight the professionalism and dedication of our team and challenge us to become even more of a strategic partner to our clients, and to continue to pursue innovation in our work. We have shared the themes from the feedback with the relevant advisory teams so that our clients’ insights can help shape future service delivery.

We look forward to continuing to collaborate with our clients to take forward the government’s objectives. For enquiries or further information about our services please contact us at: enquiries@gad.gov.uk.

Fiona Dunsire, Government Actuary

Introduction

The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) is committed to providing high-quality, cost-effective advice to clients across government and the public sector. The annual client feedback survey indicates how clients perceive our work and achievements over the past financial year.

We asked 168 client contacts what they thought of GAD and we received 81 replies from 40 different organisations. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive; 100% of our clients rated us 4 or more stars for being highly valued (an increase from 99% last year), with an average score of 4.8 stars out of a maximum of 5. There have been increases in ratings across most of the categories assessed.

Clients also had the opportunity to provide qualitative feedback, to complement the quantitative ratings. In this instance 52 of the 81 respondents offered comments. These further insights are crucial for providing context to the overall results, showing us where we can continue to improve and informing our future plans.

The scores and feedback provide an invaluable independent assessment of our performance and relationships with our clients.

The word cloud below illustrates the 3 words our clients choose as best describing GAD:

These words align with the broader qualitative feedback which demonstrates that clients highly value both the quality of our advice and the way we work alongside clients as partners.

How we work & what we do

GAD collaborates with clients in several ways, such as providing actuarial analysis and advice, offering secondments and on-site working with client teams. Working within the Civil Service, our actuaries, consultants and analysts provide technical expertise across a wide area of activities.

Our service

We consistently strive to improve the quality, efficiency and value of our professional services, and to enhance those services through new ideas and innovation. We are committed to providing a high‑quality service that is:

• delivered on time
• within budget
• within scope
• clearly communicated
• value for money

We asked clients how they rated our service, and the infographic below provides a visual summary of the feedback. The percentage ratings are for scores of ‘mostly’ or ‘always’ for the relevant area.

It was wonderful to see a respondent note, “I had not heard of GAD prior to using their services and would now positively recommend them as a great asset.”

Feedback against our 2030 Strategy objectives

We also requested feedback from clients in relation to our strategic objectives. As we pass the end of the first year of our 2030 Strategy, we are grateful for their views as to how we are meeting the expectations of our 2 strategic goals. We are delighted that:

• 97% of respondents agree that we are succeeding in our aim to unlock value in our core work
• 94% agree that we are making more impact on policy.

Comments included:

• “GAD’s expertise has proved invaluable over the years. We would not have been able to achieve what we have without that support, insight and expertise.”
• “[the GAD team] provided invaluable input and challenge to our policy development. Their expertise helped ensure we reached a high-quality outcome.”

It was also very encouraging to receive the feedback, “We should work harder when working with GAD to bring them closer to the policy context. Because doing so would make it easier for them subsequently to provide advice.”

We are keen that clients involve us in their work as early as possible. We recommend that clients approach us early, even if they’re not sure how GAD might be able to support them at that stage. We can often help frame the issues as well as potentially support solutions.

Listening to clients

While many clients found the service was excellent value, some highlighted practicalities around initial engagement of GAD services. We are exploring ways we can continue to improve our contracting and engagement as a result. Some clients also encouraged us to be even “more proactive with innovative solutions / initiatives”.

Overall, clients appreciate the responsiveness and professionalism of GAD’s teams, with several mentioning specific members of the team, recognising their exceptional service.

We are grateful for our clients’ observations on our strengths and areas for improvement. We will continue to reflect on, and learn from, the valuable insights so generously provided by them.