Recommendations & Conclusions
7 items
17
Conclusion
Ninth Report - Whole of Government Acco…
Acknowledged
When examining the 2019–20 WGA, we concluded that failures in the local audit market in England were resulting in poorer quality data for preparing the Whole of Government Accounts.26 We subsequently examined the timeliness of local auditor reporting in June 2023, and found that the backlog of audit opinions for …
Government response. The government states it agrees and has implemented the recommendation, noting it wrote to the Committee in March 2024 to update on its senior-level engagement and discussions with stakeholders about options for clearing the local audit backlog.
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Ninth Report - Whole of Government Acco…
Acknowledged
We received written evidence from the University of Glasgow, which suggested two main points of failure in HM Treasury’s approach to the local audit crisis. Firstly, that the emerging problems in local audit were not identified or considered in terms of risk. It explained that this meant that a gap …
Government response. The government agrees and claims implementation, stating it updated the Committee in March 2024 on its senior-level engagement and detailed discussions with stakeholders regarding options for clearing the local audit backlog.
HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
Ninth Report - Whole of Government Acco…
Acknowledged
The Treasury told us that was putting in place a plan to try to eliminate the backlogs in local audit. It explained that this included: • establishing a final deadline for the production of the audited accounts for local government bodies, accepting that this may necessitate qualifications or even disclaimers …
Government response. The government agrees and claims implementation, stating it wrote to the Committee in March 2024 to provide an update on its ongoing senior-level engagement and detailed discussions with stakeholders regarding the local audit backlog.
HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
Ninth Report - Whole of Government Acco…
Acknowledged
We were concerned that the problems we see now in the local audit sector could spread and contaminate the health sector. We asked what more it could do to help to address the issues with the audit of local government. The Treasury recognised the importance of both auditor incentives and …
Government response. The government agrees and claims implementation, noting it updated the Committee in March 2024 on its senior-level engagement and detailed discussions with stakeholders regarding options for clearing the local audit backlog.
HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
Ninth Report - Whole of Government Acco…
Acknowledged
We asked the Treasury what it could do to address the audit backlog in the local government sector more quickly. The Treasury stated that it expected the clearance of the local audit backlog to take several years. The C&AG noted that the work that the Treasury and the NAO were …
Government response. The government states it agrees and has implemented the recommendation, noting it wrote to the Committee in March 2024 to update on its senior-level engagement and discussions with stakeholders about options for clearing the local audit backlog.
HM Treasury
28
Conclusion
Ninth Report - Whole of Government Acco…
Acknowledged
Both of the professional bodies that responded to the Committee’s request for evidence addressed the collection and use of data. The ICAEW told us that a lot more could be done to explain how public spending has been used to meet policy objectives and the needs of the population, and …
Government response. The government acknowledges the committee's observations and commits to continuous WGA improvement, ensuring it reflects topical interest, and considering additional disclosures, while noting the 2021-22 WGA includes climate disclosures and signposts other relevant government publications.
HM Treasury
29
Conclusion
Ninth Report - Whole of Government Acco…
Acknowledged
We asked the Treasury how it was reflecting the issue of Net Zero spending in the WGA, given its importance across government and therefore every public body that is included in the WGA. At present, the WGA deals primarily with listing spending commitments relating to Net Zero. HM Treasury committed …
Government response. The government acknowledges the importance of reflecting topical issues like Net Zero and states the 2021-22 WGA includes climate disclosures. It commits to continuous improvement and careful consideration of additional disclosures, while maintaining WGA as a record of past performance …
HM Treasury