Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 18
16th Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2022-23
Published 19 Mar 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Whole of Government Accounts 2022-23 All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
As such, MHCLG told us that it had a good understanding of the financial pressures facing particular local authorities and that it was confident in knowing where the issues were.39 MHCLG did note though that quirks can occur, referencing Barnet Council issuing a s114 notice where the council made unlawful transactions relating to pensions in 2020.40 MHCLG was not aware of the issue before the council declared it.41 We highlighted to MHCLG the importance of understanding where local authorities are under pressure from increasing expenditure, on SEND for example, with which it agreed.42 35 WGA0001 36 For example, House of Commons Library, Why are local authorities going ‘bankrupt’?, July 2024 37 Q 17 38 Q 31 39 Qq 31, 34 40 Letter from MHCLG to the Committee of Public Accounts, 6 February 2025 41 Q 34 42 Q 38 13 Increasing numbers of late or uncompleted Local Authority accounts makes it more difficult for councillors or their officers to spot irregularities or trends which could enable them to take earlier interventions to prevent section 114 notices. When this happens, services tend to be reduced and council tax increased.
From: Public Accounts Committee, 16th Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2022-23 (HC 367), 19 March 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Sixteenth Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026.
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Sixteenth report from Session 2024-25
Published 16 May 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" on each of the six conclusions, but disagrees with two of the Committee's conclusions about the pace of local audit reform and MHCLG's oversight of local government.
- HM Treasury will write to the Committee within six months on missing and unaudited data, and "expects the level of missing data to reduce in 2024-25", though it "may take longer" before no audit opinions are disclaimed.
- The government "does not agree" that it has taken too long to put local audit plans in place, citing six statutory backstop dates announced in July 2024.
- The government "disagrees" that MHCLG lacks sufficient oversight of local government, stating that MHCLG uses modelling and other financial information to understand financial resilience.
- On accessibility, HM Treasury "will design a draft summary WGA pocketbook after WGA 2023-24 is published" and share an early draft with the Committee, while digitisation will only be considered once the WGA recovery plan is completed.