Timeliness of local auditor reporting on local government in England

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 23 Mar 2021 Closed: 16 Nov 2021 Parliament page
In 2019‑20, 487 local bodies including local councils, local police and local fire bodies in England spent nearly £100 billion delivering local public services that residents, businesses and taxpayers rely on every day.Proper accounting with high quality audit is essential for public trust in how taxpayers’ money is spent. Each … Read more
5 Recommendations
29 Conclusions
1 Report
2 Oral sessions
3 Letters
2 Events
Activity timeline 7 events
16 Nov
2021
Correspondence
28 Oct
2021
Report published
25 Oct
2021
Correspondence
14 Jul
2021
Report published
21 Jun
2021
Correspondence
20 May
2021
Oral evidence
17 May
2021
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions
20 May 2021
View on parliament.uk
Local government auditing in England 2020
Catherine Frances · Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Jeremy Pocklington CB · Ministry of Defence Tony Crawley · Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd
17 May 2021
View on parliament.uk
Local government auditing in England 2020
Fiona Baldwin · Grant Thornton Janet Dawson · Ernst and Young Mark Stocks · Grant Thornton Sir Tony Redmond · Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Eleventh Report - Local auditor reporting on local government in… HC 171 14 Jul 2021 34 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
1 result
Clear
33 Conclusion Accepted in Part
Eleventh Report - Local auditor re…
EY and Grant Thornton highlighted that the amount of work which firms were required to...
EY and Grant Thornton highlighted that the amount of work which firms were required to carry out in auditing local authorities looked nothing like that required in 2017, for example, in the additional work involved in valuing assets supporting pension … Read more
Government Response
The government states it will work with stakeholders to identify opportunities to reduce accounting and audit requirements in less risky areas, which could partially address concerns about increased auditor workload. However, the response largely focuses on transparency and standardized statements, which is a misalignment with this specific conclusion.
HM Treasury
View details
Government Response AI assessment · 33 of 5 classified
Accepted 21
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 6
Not Addressed 5
Total 5 recs + 29 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
16 Nov 2021 Correspondence from Dame Meg Hillier, Chair, Committee of Public Account, re Treasury Minute response – Timeliness of local auditor reporting on local government in England, dated 8 November 2021
Parliament page
25 Oct 2021 Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington CB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, re response to the Public Accounts Committee’s 11th Report of Session 2021–22 Timeliness of local auditor reporting and Treasury Minute, dated 6 October 2021
Parliament page
21 Jun 2021 Correspondence from Catherine Frances, Director General, Local Government, Strategy & Analysis Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, re PAC hearing into audit delays follow up, dated 14 June 2021
Parliament page