Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Ninth Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2020–21
Public Accounts Committee
HC 65
Published 26 January 2024
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Ninth report from Session 2023-24 · published 2 Apr 2024
Recommendations & Conclusions
17
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Local audit failures and backlogs severely impair 2020-21 WGA data quality
Conclusion
When examining the 2019–20 WGA, we concluded that failures in the local audit market in England were resulting in poorer quality data for preparing the Whole of Government Accounts.26 We subsequently examined the timeliness of local auditor reporting in June …
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Government Response Summary
The government states it agrees and has implemented the recommendation, noting it wrote to the Committee in March 2024 to update on its senior-level engagement and discussions with stakeholders about options for clearing the local audit backlog.
HM Treasury
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18
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Treasury failed to assess risks and capacity issues within the local audit crisis
Conclusion
We received written evidence from the University of Glasgow, which suggested two main points of failure in HM Treasury’s approach to the local audit crisis. Firstly, that the emerging problems in local audit were not identified or considered in terms …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees and claims implementation, stating it updated the Committee in March 2024 on its senior-level engagement and detailed discussions with stakeholders regarding options for clearing the local audit backlog.
HM Treasury
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19
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Treasury developing multi-faceted plan to eliminate backlogs in local government audit
Conclusion
The Treasury told us that was putting in place a plan to try to eliminate the backlogs in local audit. It explained that this included: • establishing a final deadline for the production of the audited accounts for local government …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees and claims implementation, stating it wrote to the Committee in March 2024 to provide an update on its ongoing senior-level engagement and detailed discussions with stakeholders regarding the local audit backlog.
HM Treasury
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20
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Local audit failures risk spreading to health sector, already causing account delays
Conclusion
We were concerned that the problems we see now in the local audit sector could spread and contaminate the health sector. We asked what more it could do to help to address the issues with the audit of local government. …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees and claims implementation, noting it updated the Committee in March 2024 on its senior-level engagement and detailed discussions with stakeholders regarding options for clearing the local audit backlog.
HM Treasury
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21
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Quickly clearing local audit backlog risks qualified opinions and lost public assurance
Conclusion
We asked the Treasury what it could do to address the audit backlog in the local government sector more quickly. The Treasury stated that it expected the clearance of the local audit backlog to take several years. The C&AG noted …
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Government Response Summary
The government states it agrees and has implemented the recommendation, noting it wrote to the Committee in March 2024 to update on its senior-level engagement and discussions with stakeholders about options for clearing the local audit backlog.
HM Treasury
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28
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Public spending data lacks sufficient explanation of policy impact and non-financial key performance indicators.
Conclusion
Both of the professional bodies that responded to the Committee’s request for evidence addressed the collection and use of data. The ICAEW told us that a lot more could be done to explain how public spending has been used to …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's observations and commits to continuous WGA improvement, ensuring it reflects topical interest, and considering additional disclosures, while noting the 2021-22 WGA includes climate disclosures and signposts other relevant government publications.
HM Treasury
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29
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Whole of Government Accounts currently list Net Zero spending commitments, not actual audited expenditure data.
Conclusion
We asked the Treasury how it was reflecting the issue of Net Zero spending in the WGA, given its importance across government and therefore every public body that is included in the WGA. At present, the WGA deals primarily with …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of reflecting topical issues like Net Zero and states the 2021-22 WGA includes climate disclosures. It commits to continuous improvement and careful consideration of additional disclosures, while maintaining WGA as a record of past performance and part of a broader reporting framework.
HM Treasury
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