Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
Treasury acknowledges WGA reliability issues, expressing belief in future improvements despite problems
Conclusion
We challenged the Treasury about the impact of the missing data and the poor quality of a some of the data being consolidated into the WGA. The Treasury acknowledged that the accounts being disclaimed on the basis of such issues is “hugely sub–optimal”.19 However, officials did express their belief that the reliability of the WGA will increase in the future.20 Plans to fix the crisis in local audit
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and commits to several specific actions to address missing and unaudited data, including reporting updates, expecting reductions in missing data, and engaging with local authorities for WGA 2024-25.
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.