Treasury issues accounting officer guidance on super-injunctions after Afghan data breach

HM Treasury has issued new guidance to accounting officers across government on handling information covered by super-injunctions, responding to the Public Accounts Committee's finding that the super-injunction obtained after the Ministry of Defence's Afghan data breach left both the committee and the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) in the dark about a multi-billion-pound resettlement scheme.

The guidance, issued on 28 July 2026 as Dear Accounting Officer letter DAO 07/26 and signed by David Fairbrother, Treasury Officer of Accounts, instructs accounting officers considering a super-injunction to explicitly inform ministers whether or not they consider it necessary for any court order to provide for information to be shared with the C&AG in order to meet statutory audit requirements, noting that both the PAC and the C&AG expect the C&AG to be informed of any matter with potential material financial consequences.

DAO letters are the Treasury's mechanism for issuing binding guidance to the accounting officers - usually permanent secretaries and chief executives - personally responsible for regularity, propriety and value for money in public spending.

The letter arises from the Afghan data incident. Following the discovery in August 2023 that a spreadsheet containing names of applicants to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and its predecessor had been emailed outside official government systems, the MoD sought an injunction, and the High Court granted a super-injunction in September 2023.

The government then established the Afghanistan Response Route to resettle those thought to be at highest risk from the breach. However, because of the super-injunction, neither the PAC chair nor the C&AG was informed of the scheme's existence until the order was lifted in July 2025. The PAC's November 2025 report on the scheme recommended that the Treasury issue guidance on how accounting officers should act in the event of super-injunctions.

The annexed guidance notes that "super-injunction" is not a term of art but is widely understood to refer to injunctions accompanied by an interim non-disclosure order prohibiting reporting of the fact of proceedings, and that such orders have a significant impact on public and parliamentary accountability.

It advises that anyone instructing on or drafting a super-injunction order should consider seeking provision for information to be shared on a limited and confidential basis, to enable what limited scrutiny is possible in the circumstances, and that where spending is involved, it may be appropriate to seek to include both members and clerks of the PAC.

The guidance sets out the statutory footing for the C&AG's access: under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, the C&AG has a statutory right of access to any documents relating to an audited body's accounts, needs sight of all relevant information to ensure accounts present a true and fair view, and must be given "any assistance, information or explanation" required, while rights of access for value for money examinations sit in section 8 of the National Audit Act 1983.

Accounting officers must consult their organisation's senior finance officer when making the determination, and where they consider information should not be shared, must make the case to ministers, documenting the reasons for non-disclosure and the period for which that position is expected to apply. The Treasury stresses that it is ultimately for the courts to determine whether to grant an injunction and on what terms, that breach of an injunction is a contempt of court, and that departments should engage the Government Legal Department at the earliest opportunity.

The DAO letter is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dao-0726-sharing-information-covered-by-injunctions/dao-0726-sharing-information-covered-by-injunctions