Whole of Government Accounts 2023-24

Public Accounts Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 11 Jul 2025 Parliament page
The Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) consolidates the accounts of over 10,000 public organisations, including central government departments, local authorities, devolved administrations, the NHS, academy schools and public corporations, to provide the most complete and accurate picture of the UK’s public finances. For the first time ever in 2022-23, the … Read more
8 Recommendations
21 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
2 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 4 events
1 Jun
2026
Correspondence
4 Mar
2026
Report published
26 Jan
2026
Correspondence
11 Dec
2025
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
11 Dec 2025
View on parliament.uk
Andrew Cartner · HM Treasury Conrad Smewing · HM Treasury James Bowler CB · HM Treasury Rosie Seymour · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Will Garton · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Will Garton · Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Title HC No. Published Items Response
69th Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2023-24 HC 1243 4 Mar 2026 29 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
16 results
Clear
2 Recommendation Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
The Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) has received a disclaimed audit opinion for two consecutive...
The Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) has received a disclaimed audit opinion for two consecutive years, with no clear indication that this position will improve in the near future. The Committee remains concerned that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and … Read more
Government Response
MHCLG has written to the Committee alongside the Treasury Minute with the information requested in recommendation (a). The Treasury has expanded its analysis of the number of missing entities to cover a wider range of years and will continue to keep under review how further information might be incorporated into future WGA publications to enhance transparency.
HM Treasury
View details
3 Recommendation Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
The timing and delivery of local government reforms remain unclear.
The timing and delivery of local government reforms remain unclear. The local government audit crisis stems from long-standing issues, including fragmented system ownership, limited audit and finance capacity, rising regulatory demands, overly complex accounts and financial reporting requirements, and the … Read more
Government Response
MHCLG has written separately to the Committee alongside the Treasury Minute with the information requested in recommendation (a). The government has a clear ambition to clear all backstop-related disclaimed opinions by the end of 2027-28 and has published a transition plan setting out the arrangements for the reformed local audit system to help meet this objective.
HM Treasury
View details
4 Recommendation Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
The Treasury has improved long-term liability disclosures, but further work is needed to clearly convey...
The Treasury has improved long-term liability disclosures, but further work is needed to clearly convey their insights and relevance to readers. The WGA includes several large and complex liabilities, which the Committee has previously noted are difficult for readers to … Read more
Government Response
The Treasury will expand the section on undiscounted liabilities in the 2024-25 WGA by presenting provisions on a fully undiscounted basis, and will also provide an alternative presentation using a flat 2% discount rate applied on a net-of-CPI basis to illustrate the impact of discounting.
HM Treasury
View details
6 Recommendation Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
The Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) is not sufficiently transparent on devolved spending.
The Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) is not sufficiently transparent on devolved spending. The WGA is designed to provide a comprehensive picture of the UK’s public sector finances and support more effective management of fiscal risks. By consolidating financial information … Read more
Government Response
The Treasury will provide additional information on devolved expenditure in the performance report section of the 2024-25 accounts, giving clearer visibility of devolved spending across the nations of the UK. The Scottish Government has committed to strengthening its oversight and support arrangements to improve future performance.
HM Treasury
View details
7 Conclusion Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
WGA has the ability to illuminate long-term risks and structural pressures on public finances, offering...
WGA has the ability to illuminate long-term risks and structural pressures on public finances, offering Parliament a more strategic lens for oversight. We questioned the Treasury on how it was going to make the WGA a more integrated part of … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee and states the recommendation is implemented, highlighting that it has already improved WGA accessibility through new sections, additional disclosures, a supplementary handbook, and teach-in sessions for Parliamentary staff. It also notes ongoing reviews and monitoring of the WGA's composition and compliance.
HM Treasury
View details
9 Conclusion Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
The requirement to produce WGA is set out in the Government Resources and Accounts Act...
The requirement to produce WGA is set out in the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (GRAA).14 The Treasury publish annual submission guidance outlining that all entities are required to submit Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 submissions by respective deadlines. … Read more
Government Response
The government states it agrees with the Committee's implied recommendation regarding the Whole of Government Accounts process and that it has already been implemented, citing ongoing wider reforms in the local audit sector and actions taken to improve WGA accessibility and compliance.
HM Treasury
View details
10 Conclusion Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
We challenged Treasury on the acceptability of the WGA disclaimed opinion due to missing or...
We challenged Treasury on the acceptability of the WGA disclaimed opinion due to missing or unaudited data from local authorities and the Treasury acknowledged that the situation is unsatisfactory. It reported, however, that it expects the number of missing entities … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee's observation, stating that the local audit backstop programme is already making significant progress in improving timely publication of accounts, with increasing proportions of bodies publishing on time. It expects the local audit position to improve over the next two to three years and will continue engagement with local bodies.
HM Treasury
View details
18 Conclusion Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
The WGA includes several large and complex long-term liabilities that the previous Committee identified as...
The WGA includes several large and complex long-term liabilities that the previous Committee identified as difficult for readers to interpret owing to their significant sensitivity to movements in the discount rate.36
Government Response
The government agrees with the implied recommendation regarding the transparency of long-term liabilities in the WGA. It commits to expanding the section on undiscounted liabilities in the 2024-25 WGA, providing an alternative presentation using a flat 2% discount rate, and will work with GAD to include this information for key provisions, with a target implementation date of June 2026.
HM Treasury
View details
19 Conclusion Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
The three largest liabilities are: the nuclear decommissioning provision which fell by £19.1 billion, from...
The three largest liabilities are: the nuclear decommissioning provision which fell by £19.1 billion, from £126.0 billion at 31 March 2023 to £106.9 billion at 31 March 2024; the clinical negligence provision which decreased from £69.3 billion at 31 March … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and commits to enhancing the transparency of long-term liabilities in future WGA publications by working with GAD to separately identify discount rate impacts and expanding the section on undiscounted liabilities in the 2024-25 WGA.
HM Treasury
View details
20 Recommendation Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
Under IFRS, the Treasury uses a real (inflation-adjusted) discount rate to value long-term obligations such...
Under IFRS, the Treasury uses a real (inflation-adjusted) discount rate to value long-term obligations such as provisions and pensions. While appropriate under accounting rules, this means annual movements in liabilities can reflect economic shifts rather than changes in policy or … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts the recommendation to publish both discounted and undiscounted values for long-term liabilities, with a target implementation date of June 2026, and will expand the 2024-25 WGA to present provisions on a fully undiscounted basis.
HM Treasury
View details
21 Conclusion Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
We asked the Treasury to explain why undiscounted information had not been provided for all...
We asked the Treasury to explain why undiscounted information had not been provided for all major liabilities in the WGA 2023–24 despite being asked to. The Treasury stated that it is considering extending this approach to pensions and clinical negligence … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the implied recommendation for greater transparency in long-term liabilities. It commits to expanding the section on undiscounted liabilities in the 2024-25 WGA, providing an alternative presentation using a flat 2% discount rate, and will work with GAD to include this information for key provisions, with a target implementation date of June 2026.
HM Treasury
View details
23 Recommendation Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
We pressed the Treasury on whether the Government should be exploring alternative ways of paying...
We pressed the Treasury on whether the Government should be exploring alternative ways of paying for or funding public service pension liabilities. The Treasury responded that public service pensions remain unfunded, pay-as-you-go schemes as this is consistent with Government’s overall … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation but indicates that existing measures, such as the public service schemes introduced in 2014-2015 with changed retirement ages and contributions, and the ongoing Cost Control Mechanism, already address the need to manage public service pension liabilities.
HM Treasury
View details
26 Conclusion Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
The Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) is intended to present an integrated assessment of the...
The Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) is intended to present an integrated assessment of the United Kingdom’s public sector finances, enabling clearer oversight of fiscal exposures and long-term financial commitments. By drawing together financial information from across the UK it … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee's observation, stating that ongoing wider reforms in the local audit sector and existing Treasury actions to improve WGA accessibility and compliance are expected to address weaknesses and ensure the WGA fulfils its intended purpose. They also state the recommendation has been implemented.
HM Treasury
View details
27 Recommendation Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
We challenged the Treasury on how the WGA presents the spending of devolved nations and...
We challenged the Treasury on how the WGA presents the spending of devolved nations and the lack of clarity regarding how devolved budgets are allocated and managed.53 The Treasury responded that it will not separate the financial statements by devolved … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation and commits to providing additional information on devolved expenditure in the performance report section of the 2024-25 accounts, with a target implementation date of June 2026, to give clearer visibility of devolved spending.
HM Treasury
View details
28 Conclusion Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
We also expressed concern on the lack of data from Scottish entities which poses a...
We also expressed concern on the lack of data from Scottish entities which poses a serious impediment to scrutinise all parts of the UK public sector to provide value for money.55 Of the 34 Scottish Central Government entities, 19 (56%) … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's concern, committing to provide additional information on devolved expenditure in the performance report section of the 2024-25 accounts by June 2026 to enhance transparency and visibility of Scottish public sector spending.
HM Treasury
View details
29 Conclusion Accepted
69th Report - Whole of Government …
The Treasury highlighted that Scottish entities do not have a legal requirement to submit a...
The Treasury highlighted that Scottish entities do not have a legal requirement to submit a WGA return.58 Under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 HM Treasury may designate a body for inclusion in WGA unless its activities relate entirely … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees, with a target implementation date of June 2026. The Treasury will provide additional information on devolved expenditure in the performance report section of the 2024-25 accounts to enhance transparency and understanding of devolved spending.
HM Treasury
View details
Government Response AI assessment · 29 of 8 classified
Accepted 16
Acknowledged 3
Deferred 4
Rejected 6
Total 8 recs + 21 conclusions
Correspondence 2 letters
1 Jun 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government relating to Treasury Minute - Sixty-ninth Report of Session 2024-26, 21 May 2026
Parliament page
26 Jan 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury relating to a follow-up to the Committee’s evidence session on 11 December 2025 on Whole of Government Accounts 2023–24, 16 January 2026
Parliament page