Whole of Government Accounts

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 26 Apr 2022 Closed: 14 Dec 2022 Parliament page
The Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) is a unique document which provides the most complete and accurate picture available of UK public sector finances. A set of financial statements prepared by HM Treasury in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, it consolidates information on the financial performance of over 9,000 … Read more
21 Recommendations
6 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
4 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 8 events
12 Jan
2023
Correspondence
14 Dec
2022
Report published
8 Nov
2022
Correspondence
17 Oct
2022
Correspondence
14 Oct
2022
Report published
8 Jun
2022
Oral evidence
8 Jun
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
9 Mar
2022
Correspondence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
8 Jun 2022
View on parliament.uk
Whole of Government Accounts
Cat Little · Cabinet Office Sir Tom Scholar · HM Treasury Vicky Rock · HM Treasury
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Twentieth Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2019–20 HC 31 14 Oct 2022 27 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
27 results
2 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
Poor design and testing of OSCAR II caused significant delays to the Whole of Government...
Poor design and testing of OSCAR II caused significant delays to the Whole of Government Accounts. In July 2020 the Treasury replaced its now obsolete IT system with a new system, OSCAR II, used for collecting and consolidating data from … Read more
Government Response
The Treasury has undertaken a number of lessons learned exercises, including engaging the Government Internal Audit Agency to support this work and changed its practices for project managing changes to the system.
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3 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
Failures in the local audit market in England and Wales are resulting in poorer quality...
Failures in the local audit market in England and Wales are resulting in poorer quality data for Central Government to use in oversight, and in preparing the Whole of Government Accounts. Before the pandemic, the Local Government audit sector was … Read more
Government Response
The Treasury will centrally carry out assurance work over data submissions that are below the audit threshold (across all sectors) and is obtaining further specialist assurance advice on how to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the assurance procedures for WGA.
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4 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
Inconsistent presentation of data between years, and lack of reflection of current Government policies and...
Inconsistent presentation of data between years, and lack of reflection of current Government policies and economic context, reduce the usability of the Whole of Government Accounts. The 2019–20 WGA presented some important trend analysis within the Performance Report; an aspect … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to ensure that analysis in the WGA supports comparability and reflects developments since the reporting date, by building on trend data, reflecting topical interests, following best practices in data presentation, and including commentary to reflect developments in the public sector and financial landscapes since the reporting date, while balancing change and continuity, and reflecting the impact of inflation in the WGA Statement of Revenue and Expenditure.
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5 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
The content of the Whole of Government Accounts has improved but does not transparently report...
The content of the Whole of Government Accounts has improved but does not transparently report against all key areas of government spending. The issues that are of greatest interest to users of the WGA, including the Committee, evolve over time. … Read more
Government Response
HM Treasury will continue to improve the content of WGA, to ensure it brings together the best available published information on topics of interest but considers that adding too many disclosures might make reporting complex and unwieldy, therefore consideration will be given to ensuring that WGA provides the most effective commentary on the financial statements presented and associated issues.
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6 Recommendation Rejected
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
Government has not yet set out the consequences of announced Civil Service staffing reductions.
Government has not yet set out the consequences of announced Civil Service staffing reductions. In May 2022, the government announced that it intends to cut 91,000 jobs from the civil service over the next three years. The 2021 Spending Review … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to prepare a costed plan based on proposed staffing reductions across government, stating that they will not be publishing a full plan to deliver the previously proposed Civil Service staffing reductions, and will instead focus on departmental efficiency and savings reviews.
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1 Conclusion Acknowledged
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
Based on the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) for the year ended 31 March 2020,...
Based on the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) for the year ended 31 March 2020, we took evidence from HM Treasury (the Treasury) on 8 June 2022.1 The WGA is a unique document which provides the most complete and accurate … Read more
Government Response
The Treasury is revisiting the timetable for the 2020-21 account and future cycles and will write to the Committee setting out a long term recovery strategy to strengthen discipline within the system and investing in specialist project management support and increasing the size of the WGA team.
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7 Conclusion Acknowledged
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
Timeliness is essential when gathering high-quality data needed to produce useful information; delays reduce the...
Timeliness is essential when gathering high-quality data needed to produce useful information; delays reduce the value and transparency of information in the WGA and diminish its potential to generate valuable insights.17 The published accounts are an important source for key … Read more
Government Response
The Treasury is revisiting the timetable for the 2020-21 account and future cycles in light of the causes of the delays both this year and for 2019-20, and will write to the Committee setting out a long term recovery strategy that is realistic.
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8 Recommendation Acknowledged
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
Throughout the course of the 2019–20 accounts preparation process, the Treasury repeatedly underestimated how long...
Throughout the course of the 2019–20 accounts preparation process, the Treasury repeatedly underestimated how long it would take to produce the WGA; missing both 11 Public Accounts Committee, Report of session: Whole of Government Accounts 2018–19, 22 January 2021 12 … Read more
Government Response
The Treasury is revisiting the timetable for the 2020-21 account and future cycles in light of the causes of the delays both this year and for 2019-20, and will write to the Committee setting out a long term recovery strategy that is realistic.
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9 Recommendation Acknowledged
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
The Treasury has laid out its aims for delivery of the 2020–21 and 2021–22 accounts,...
The Treasury has laid out its aims for delivery of the 2020–21 and 2021–22 accounts, setting target dates for publication of March 2023 and November 2023 respectively. This gives the Treasury less than 10 months from publication of the 2019–20 … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation, acknowledging the unlikelihood of achieving the planned March 2023 publication date and stating they are revisiting the timetable and will write to the Committee with a long term recovery strategy.
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10 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
In July 2020 the Treasury launched its new financial IT system, OSCAR II, for use...
In July 2020 the Treasury launched its new financial IT system, OSCAR II, for use in preparing the WGA. OSCAR II replaced the previous, obsolete system and was designed to support, amongst other functions: the collection and consolidation of data … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to undertake a lessons-learnt exercise addressing the root causes of poor design specification and testing of OSCAR II, and ensure identified improvements are implemented when applying future system changes.
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11 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
However, during the implementation of OSCAR II, a number of significant problems arose.
However, during the implementation of OSCAR II, a number of significant problems arose. The problems, which were not localised but were encountered across the system’s different functionalities, included: issues faced by component bodies when attempting to submit their data to … Read more
Government Response
The Treasury has undertaken a number of lessons learned exercises, including engaging the Government Internal Audit Agency to support this work, and is applying the lessons learned in deciding on the future support and development arrangements for the system.
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12 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
The Treasury has told us that that all known issues with OSCAR II have now...
The Treasury has told us that that all known issues with OSCAR II have now been resolved as they move onto the production of the 2020–21 WGA. However, the Treasury informed us that it anticipates that there are likely to … Read more
Government Response
The Treasury has changed its practices for project managing changes to the OSCAR II system and is negotiating a new plan with Deloitte. They are applying lessons learned in deciding on future support arrangements, with the existing contract due to end in November 2023.
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13 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
The Local Government audit sector in England and Wales has been under significant strain for...
The Local Government audit sector in England and Wales has been under significant strain for a number of years. There is a shortage of auditors with the knowledge and experience to deliver, within the expected timeframes, the high-quality audits required … Read more
Government Response
The Treasury will centrally carry out assurance work over WGA data submissions that are below the audit threshold and is obtaining further specialist assurance advice on how to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the assurance procedures for WGA.
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14 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
The Treasury explained that the decision was made to prepare the WGA using unaudited data...
The Treasury explained that the decision was made to prepare the WGA using unaudited data from these bodies as a trade-off between timeliness and completeness. The Treasury told us that it waited for the audits of all the largest bodies … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to ensure the data in OSCAR II will remain of sufficient quality by centrally carrying out assurance work over data submissions that are below the audit threshold and by obtaining further specialist assurance advice on how to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the assurance procedures for WGA.
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15 Conclusion Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
This problem is expected to escalate further as the Treasury look towards the 2020– 21...
This problem is expected to escalate further as the Treasury look towards the 2020– 21 WGA. The proportion of 2020–21 Local Government audits that had been completed by the target date of 20 September 2021 dropped again from 45% in … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation to ensure the data in OSCAR II will remain of sufficient quality. They state WGA data submissions are prepared based on component entity’s audited accounts where published, and entities above a certain size are also required to have their WGA data submission audited. The Treasury will centrally carry out assurance work over data submissions that are below the audit threshold.
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16 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
There are several factors that contribute to maximising the usability of the WGA for the...
There are several factors that contribute to maximising the usability of the WGA for the public and other stakeholders. We discussed with the Treasury how creating successive sets of accounts which are presented in a consistent and comparable way enables … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to ensure that analysis in the WGA supports comparability and reflects developments since the reporting date such as the impact of high inflation. They will build on the existing 5-year trend data and ensure comparative data is presented as effectively as possible, reflecting areas of topical interest and following best practice in presentation.
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17 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
In the 2019–20 WGA, the Treasury presented some important trend analysis within the Performance Report...
In the 2019–20 WGA, the Treasury presented some important trend analysis within the Performance Report on income and expenditure, as well as assets and liabilities.47 This is an aspect of the WGA reporting that we welcome as an incredibly useful … Read more
Government Response
The Treasury will build on the WGA performance report to ensure comparative data is presented as effectively as possible, to enhance the useability of the accounts, and provide clear prior year data to aid comparability where presentational changes are made.
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18 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
Another factor to consider in elevating the usability of the WGA is the way in...
Another factor to consider in elevating the usability of the WGA is the way in which current Government policies and economic context are reflected in its reporting; currently such context is lacking. The Treasury has invited our thoughts on how … Read more
Government Response
The Treasury will build on the WGA performance report to ensure comparative data is presented as effectively as possible, to enhance the useability of the accounts, and provide clear prior year data to aid comparability where presentational changes are made.
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19 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
The Treasury explained to us how the WGA plays a crucial role in enhancing the...
The Treasury explained to us how the WGA plays a crucial role in enhancing the fiscal transparency of the public sector, giving a more complete and overarching view of government spending and the public financial structure that exists elsewhere. This … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to continue improving the content of the WGA, including spending on net zero, government emissions, fraud across government, long term costs of COVID interventions and inclusion of the equivalent of a viability statement, with a target implementation date of July 2023.
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20 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
The Treasury expressed its understanding of how the issues that are of greatest interest to...
The Treasury expressed its understanding of how the issues that are of greatest interest to users of the WGA, including the Committee, evolve over time. The Treasury told us that where users of the WGA continue to rely on the … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to continue improving the content of the WGA, including spending on net zero, government emissions, fraud across government, long term costs of COVID interventions and inclusion of the equivalent of a viability statement, with a target implementation date of July 2023.
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21 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
The Treasury currently uses the NAO’s COVID-19 Cost Tracker to provide data for its reporting...
The Treasury currently uses the NAO’s COVID-19 Cost Tracker to provide data for its reporting on COVID-19 in the WGA. However, the NAO is set to cease publishing this information in the near future and it is therefore important that … Read more
Government Response
HM Treasury will continue to improve the content of WGA, to ensure it brings together the best available published information on topics of interest, incorporating public updates into the WGA performance report.
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22 Recommendation Accepted
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
Improvements to the transparency of information in the WGA would also be achieved through more...
Improvements to the transparency of information in the WGA would also be achieved through more detailed narrative in certain areas. The asset and liability split reported in the WGA shows total assets of £2,138.5 billion and total liabilities of £4,972.7 … Read more
Government Response
HM Treasury will continue to improve the content of WGA, to ensure it brings together the best available published information on topics of interest, incorporating public updates into the WGA performance report.
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23 Recommendation Rejected
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
In May 2022, the government announced its intention to cut 91,000 jobs from the civil...
In May 2022, the government announced its intention to cut 91,000 jobs from the civil service over the next three years, with the aim of returning to 2016 staffing levels.70 The 2021 Spending Review had already confirmed the need for … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with the recommendation to prepare a clearly articulated and costed plan based on proposed staffing reductions across government, because they have moved away from top-down headcount reduction targets.
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24 Recommendation Rejected
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
Staff cuts will inevitably involve a quantity of associated costs, including redundancy costs, that the...
Staff cuts will inevitably involve a quantity of associated costs, including redundancy costs, that the government will have to pay out. We questioned the Treasury as to what the total cost of these payments was likely to be, and although … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with the recommendation to prepare a clearly articulated and costed plan based on proposed staffing reductions across government, because departments should look for the most effective ways to secure value and maximise efficiency within budgets.
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25 Conclusion Rejected
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
This scale of these proposed cuts has the potential to bring about significant consequences for...
This scale of these proposed cuts has the potential to bring about significant consequences for service delivery, both in regard to the quality and efficiency of delivery and the range of services it will be possible to provide. At the … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with the committee's recommendation. The Prime Minister has confirmed that, rather than a top-down headcount reduction target, departments should look for the most effective ways to secure value and maximise efficiency within budgets. They will not be publishing a full plan to deliver the previously proposed Civil Service staffing reductions.
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26 Conclusion Rejected
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
The Treasury told us that at this stage the challenge of how best to achieve...
The Treasury told us that at this stage the challenge of how best to achieve these reductions is in the hands of individual departments. It explained that each department is itself best placed to understand the resourcing requirements needed to … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with the premise, stating the Prime Minister has confirmed that departments should look for the most effective ways to secure value and maximise efficiency within budgets, rather than top-down headcount reduction targets.
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27 Conclusion Rejected
Twentieth Report - Whole of Govern…
We discussed with the Treasury that one way in which headcount reductions might be accomplished...
We discussed with the Treasury that one way in which headcount reductions might be accomplished whilst at the same time maintaining the scope and standard of service delivery, is by way of increased digitisation. By digitalising services, the required level … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with the committee's recommendation. The Prime Minister has confirmed that, rather than a top-down headcount reduction target, departments should look for the most effective ways to secure value and maximise efficiency within budgets. They will not be publishing a full plan to deliver the previously proposed Civil Service staffing reductions.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 27 of 21 classified
Accepted 16
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 4
Rejected 6
Total 21 recs + 6 conclusions
Correspondence 4 letters
12 Jan 2023 Correspondence from Catherine Little, Second Permanent Secretary Head of Government Finance Function, HM Treasury, re Whole of Government Accounts (WGA), dated 20 December 2022
Parliament page
8 Nov 2022 Correspondence from Dame Meg Hillier, Chair, Committee on Public Accounts to Catherine Little Second Permanent Secretary HM Treasury, re Whole of Government Accounts 2020-21, dated 3 November 2022
Parliament page
17 Oct 2022 Correspondence from Catherine Little, Director General, Public Spending HM Treasury, re Whole of Government Accounts (WGA), dated 4 October 2022
Parliament page
9 Mar 2022 Correspondence from Dame Meg Hillier, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, to Catherine Little, Director General, HM Treasury, re Whole Government Accounts 2019-20 and 2020-21, dated 3 March 2022
Parliament page