Whole of Government Accounts 2023-24

The Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) consolidates the accounts of over 10,000 public organisations, including central government departments, local authorities, devolved administrations, the NHS, academy schools and public corporations, to provide the most complete and accurate picture of the UK’s public finances. For the first time ever in 2022-23, the National Audit Office was unable … Show more

The Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) consolidates the accounts of over 10,000 public organisations, including central government departments, local authorities, devolved administrations, the NHS, academy schools and public corporations, to provide the most complete and accurate picture of the UK’s public finances. For the first time ever in 2022-23, the National Audit Office was unable to sign the WGA. This was due to the local audit crisis, whereby only 10% of 426 English local authorities submitted reliable data for the year, with 187 failing to submit at all. The PAC’s scrutiny of the WGA 2022-23 found that the government was flying blind in addressing struggling council finances amidst an unprecedented crisis in local audit, with concerns that government would not be able to foresee issues in local government finance and intervene where appropriate. The report warned that the WGA was not focused sufficiently on long-term financial risks posed by climate change, rising health spending, and geopolitical tensions. Based on the National Audit Office’s report on the Whole of Government Accounts 2023-24, the PAC will take evidence from senior government officials as it conducts its own scrutiny of the WGA. If you have evidence on these issues, please submit here by 23:59 on Thursday 27 November 2025. Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. You can request anonymity or confidentiality when you send evidence, but it is the Committee which decides what information to publish and how. It may treat submissions confidentially, even where you have not requested this. Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues . Show less