Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 6
6
The Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) is not sufficiently transparent on devolved spending.
Conclusion
The Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) is not sufficiently transparent on devolved spending. The WGA is designed to provide a comprehensive picture of the UK’s public sector finances and support more effective management of fiscal risks. By consolidating financial information across government, the WGA aims to improve transparency and enable better-informed decision-making on long-term obligations and fiscal sustainability. However, the Committee notes that the WGA does not currently offer sufficient evaluation of devolved governance structures or detailed examination of how devolved budgets are allocated and managed. This gap limits the ability of Parliament and the public to fully understand the financial implications of devolution and assess whether resources are being used efficiently across the UK. Furthermore, recent analysis indicates that Scotland are the second-poorest performing sector—surpassed only by the Local Authority sector—in the timely submission of returns to the WGA. The lack of data from Scottish entities is a serious impediment to scrutinise all parts of the UK public sector to provide value for money. recommendation a. Treasury should outline in their Treasury Minute response how the WGA disclosures will be updated in the 2024–25 annual report and accounts to clarify devolved spending. b. Treasury should outline in their Treasury Minute response how they will ensure Scottish entities submit audited data in the 2024–24 WGA. 7 1 Missing and unaudited data Introduction
Government Response
Response Pending
HM Government
Response Pending
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. around devolved spending within the WGA. The Treasury will provide additional information on devolved expenditure in the performance report section of the 2024-25 accounts. These disclosures will give clearer visibility of devolved spending across the nations of the UK and explain how these amounts relate to the overall WGA totals. This is intended to support users’ understanding of how public resources are allocated and how devolved spending fits within the wider public sector financial position. 6b: PAC recommendation: Treasury should outline in their Treasury Minute response how they will ensure Scottish entities submit audited data in the 2024–24 WGA. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. submission rates during the 2023–24 WGA cycle. The Treasury lays a Statutory Instrument designating the bodies in England and Wales that are legally required to submit data for consolidation, and a similar process applies in Northern Ireland. In contrast, the Scottish Government makes separate administrative arrangements for bodies in Scotland to provide data in line with Treasury’s requirements. Within this voluntary administrative framework, the Treasury and the Scottish Government work collaboratively to provide for effective participation in support of their WGA return. The Treasury has remained in close communication with the Scottish Government to understand the reasons for this decline, which stemmed from audit demands and challenges, unforeseen operational pressures, and competing year‑end pressures, and staff turnover affecting continuity of knowledge and familiarity with system requirements. While the Scottish Government is responsible for managing and governing WGA submissions from Scottish entities, the Treasury offered direct support during the 2024-25 cycle; nonetheless, overall submission rates worsened relative to 2023-24. For Scottish central government, non- submitting entities increased from 5 in 2023-24 to 11 in 2024-25. The increase is a reversion to levels previously seen in 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, with non- submitting figures of 17, 14 and 10 respectively. Scottish local government, non-submitting entities increased less significantly, from 12 in 2023-24 to 14 in 2024-25. The trend for local government remains more stable overall but has shown a gradual upward trajectory since 2020‑21, with the exception of 2022‑23 when the number remained unchanged. To improve future performance, the Scottish Government has committed to strengthening its oversight and support arrangements. Guidance for entities will be issued earlier to allow timely identification of issues, and this will be supplemented by additional training alongside the existing support already available. The Treasury will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government to strengthen oversight and support arrangements, and to share effective practice seen elsewhere in the devolved administrations. The Treasury will also continue to encourage submission of draft data. The Scottish Government has confirmed that a formal escalation route will also be established for Scottish non‑responding bodies, with relevant sponsoring directorates notified as appropriate, and performance information will be shared to reinforce accountability across the sector. Taken together, these actions are expected to improve the completeness and timeliness of Scottish submissions in future WGA cycles. 12