Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Accepted
Significant missing data and misstated liabilities impact Whole of Government Accounts accuracy
Conclusion
The Treasury estimated that there is approximately £133.6 billion of property, plant and equipment missing from the accounts, and approximately 104.6bn of missing public sector pension liability.16 The overall impact of missing data across the accounts is estimated to be that net liabilities are overstated by £31.7bn (1.3% of total), and net income is overstated by £34.4bn. The C&AG notes that including the missing expenditure would therefore move the published net income figure of £14.6bn to a net expenditure figure of £19.8bn.17
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to address missing and unaudited data by providing an update within six months, expecting a reduction in missing data for 2024-25 due to MHCLG's work, and HM Treasury communicating expectations to local authorities for WGA 2024-25 participation.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: September 2025 1.2 HM Treasury will respond to the committee within 6 months of the Committee’s report to provide an update on actions taken to address missing and unaudited data. The department intends to write after the Cycle 1 deadline for draft 2024-25 data so that it can provide an indication of the likely 2024-25 position (local authority deadline 29 August 2025). 1.3 The Ministry for Housing, Community and Local Government’s (MHCLG) work on the local audit crisis will help revert the focus of local authorities to more recent financial information. The government expects the level of missing data to reduce in 2024-25, although it may take longer to reach a point where no audit opinions are disclaimed due to the local audit crisis. 1.4 In March 2025, The HM Treasury Director of Public Spending wrote to local authorities that did not participate in the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) 2023-24 to set expectations for WGA 2024-25. This prompted an immediate response from local authorities including some submitting data for their 2024-25 opening balances, suggesting they are likely to participate in the next cycle. HM Treasury will work with MHCLG to communicate with all local authorities throughout the 2024-25 process to ensure they are aware of expectations.