Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
WGA publication delays attributed to data collection and feeder accounts, despite HMT assertions.
Conclusion
We therefore asked the Treasury why publication of the 2020–21 WGA was so delayed. The Treasury told us that it had assumed that collecting the data needed for the WGA would take two to three months, that preparing the accounts would take five to six months, and that the C&AG’s audit would take three to four months. It explained that the process was prolonged by delays to the accounts that feed into the WGA and delays to receiving the data needed for the WGA, which resulted in it having to extend the data collection window. Under the system in use at the time, the data collection phase must end before the accounts preparation phase could begin. HM Treasury extended this deadline three times until December 2022. The Treasury recognised that it had taken longer to produce the 2020–21 WGA after the end of the financial year that it related to compared to previous WGAs. But it asserted that given the delays to being able to start preparing the account, this was “probably one of the fastest production timetables that we have ever followed” and that, at 14 months from start to completion, this was the fastest that it had ever produced.11
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee's observation on WGA delays and outlines a forward recovery plan with specific publication dates: March 2024 for 2021-22, November 2024 for 2022-23, and July 2025 for 2023-24.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2024 1.2 HM Treasury will write to the Committee by the end of March 2024 to provide an update on the publication plans for future Whole of Government Accounts (WGA). 1.3 For the 2021-22 WGA, HM Treasury is planning to publish this at the end of March 2024, ahead of Easter Parliamentary recess, following anticipated National Audit Office (NAO) certification on 25 March 2024. 1.4 For the 2022-23 WGA, HM Treasury plans to publish in November 2024 and for the 2023-24 WGA, HM Treasury plans to publish in July 2025. The forward recovery plan assumes a 20-week accounts production period, with 13.5 weeks of audit. 1.5 The forward recovery plan for WGA is ambitious and the key risks and dependencies of this include data collection, the OSCAR II system, managing NAO capacity constraints, and parliamentary recess timetabling. Please see paragraph 6.2 for further information on OSCAR II. 1.6 WGA’s recovery timetable is likely to be ahead of that of some other government departments. In this scenario, where statutory accounts may be laid later than the proposed WGA data collection windows, HM Treasury would look to collect draft data in the first instance with manual adjustments made for any material adjustment required post audit. In theory, if this data collection is very delayed, then some of this could fall into the unaudited data qualification. 1.7 There is a critical dependency on the rollover of the system between years and ensuring this happens quickly and without errors and defects. HM Treasury will plan these rollovers in advance, escalating as appropriate. 1.8 The timing of future Parliamentary recesses and potential for purdah periods, may also impact the forward plan. As soon as these dates are known, plans will be reviewed and altered as necessary. WGA can only be published when Parliament is sitting. 1.9 HM Treasury will continue to explore options which may allow the department to deliver the WGA earlier.