Recommendation 5

The content of the Whole of Government Accounts has improved but does not transparently report against all key areas of government spending. The issues that are of greatest interest to users of the WGA, including the Committee, evolve over time. For example, the 2019–20 WGA includes reporting on sustainability and net zero targets, although the information included is brief, with limited detail – the Treasury plans to build on this going forwards. Providing a more comprehensive assessment of the impact of the pandemic on the level of fraud and error against the government should be a focus going forwards, for example by including estimates of NHS procurement fraud. The Treasury currently includes data from the COVID-19 Cost Tracker produced by the NAO in the WGA. However, it should not depend on the NAO to continue reporting this information; and should develop and use its own assessment of these costs. Improvements to the transparency of information in the WGA would be achieved through more detailed narrative in certain areas. The asset and liability split reported in the WGA, in a commercial organisation, would indicate that it is insolvent, and the Treasury could better explain why this is not the case in the context of the Government’s ability to raise future funds through taxation and borrowing. Recommendation: The Treasury should continue to improve the content of the WGA, with specific reference to the following: • Spending on net zero • Government emissions • Fraud across government • Long term costs of COVID interventions • Inclusion of the equivalent of a viability statement