Conclusion 10

We challenged Treasury on the acceptability of the WGA disclaimed opinion due to missing or unaudited data from local authorities and the Treasury acknowledged that the situation is unsatisfactory. It reported, however, that it expects the number of missing entities to fall from 201 in 2023–24 to approximately 145 in WGA 2024–25.16 The Treasury and MHCLG indicated that any future reduction in missing data is expected to result from the backstop mechanism.17 Backstop dates force the publication of local 11 Bradley, L., Heald, D., and Hodges, R, The under-realized potential usefulness of the UK Whole of Government Accounts, Public Money and Management, 45(6), 17 December 2023 12 Q 39 13 Q 55 14 Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 15 HMT, Whole of Government Accounts 2023 to 2024: guidance for preparers, accessed 18 February 2026 16 Q 3 17 Q 30 10 authority accounts even if audits are incomplete. If the local authority audit has not been completed at the date of the backstop, then the auditor will issue a disclaimed audit opinion.