Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 30
30
Accepted in Part
Delays in accounts production prevent Whole of Government Accounts from reaching full potential as a tool.
Conclusion
In its written evidence to us, the ICAEW told us that the WGA was not yet filling its full potential as it was not being used as the multi-purpose tool that it should be. The Institute maintained that annual financial reporting is a multi-purpose tool that underpins effective financial management, strategic decision-making, risk management, governance processes, and regulatory and legal compliance. It told us that the WGA had enabled progress to be made in many of the above areas. However, it also told us that the continuing pattern of delays in accounts production we have explored earlier in this report prevent the WGA from being sufficiently relevant to take their proper place as a pillar of governmental decision-making. They also limit the opportunity for the WGA to act as a means to share policy successes and good practice, and as a tool for accountability.54
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to improve WGA accessibility, commits to working with NAO and Parliament on seminars, and has written to the Parliamentary Scrutiny Unit to explore providing training sessions for MPs to better utilise the WGA.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2024 6.2 HM Treasury is committed to improving accessibility of the information within the WGA. The department would welcome an opportunity to work with the NAO and Parliament by holding seminars and other training sessions. 6.3 HM Treasury chairs the User and Preparer Advisory Group (UPAG) which brings together users and preparers of government accounts provide independent recommendations and advice to the Treasury in furtherance of improving financial reporting in the public sector. HM Treasury has written to the Parliamentary Scrutiny Unit to explore the possibility of providing training and seminars to MPs and will continue to investigate other ways in which the accessibility of the information within WGA can be improved. 6.4 Beyond the WGA, OSCAR II is used to produce the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA), which is the yearly publication on government spending. It brings together recent outturn data, estimates for the latest year, and spending plans for the rest of the current spending review period. It also shows spending by region. OSCAR II is also used to produce the Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) which presents statistical estimates for the allocation of identifiable expenditure between the UK countries and 9 English regions. 6.5 The OSCAR II dataset is also used to provide quarterly updates to monthly outturn data. The outturn information is taken from OSCAR data submitted by departments. The public are able to see monthly patterns in spend by organisations reporting data on OSCAR II. At the same time, users are also able to drill down beneath previously released high-level aggregates.