Local government audit delays are also creating problems in other parts of government. For example, delays to the completion of 2020–21 local audits are adding to uncertainty around progress with the Whole of Government Accounts, which will be published more than 24 months after the financial year end.25 We note the Department’s and HM Treasury’s action to raise the financial threshold above which authorities are required to provide audited WGA returns.26 We have also seen delays to assurance on Local Government Pension Scheme accounts contribute to delays of four to five months on certifying central government department accounts, including the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.27 The Department told us it was keen to explore options available to close the audit of central government accounts sooner where the issue holding up finalisation is the absence of local auditor assurances on the pension valuations feeding into them. The C&AG agreed that a limited audit opinion 18 Qq 8, 11, 16 ; C&AG’s Report, Para 3.20 19 Q 22; TAR0008 p.2 20 Q 69 21 TAR0014 para 7.3, TAR0008, p.2 22 Q 40 23 Q 65 24 Qq 19, 20 25 Committee of Public Accounts, Whole of Government Accounts 2019–20, Twentieth Report of Session 2022–23, HC 31, October 2022 26 C&AG’s Report, para 2.15 27 C&AG’s Report, para 2.11 Timeliness of local auditor reporting 11 could help avoid unnecessary delays and we said we would not be concerned with such accounts qualifications if they were agreed in conjunction with the NAO and remained exceptional rather than routine.28