13
Rejected
Treasury provides £45 million for local authority audit services, considering continued future funding
Conclusion
The Treasury told us that it was providing £45 million of funding to MHCLG to support local authorities in purchasing audit services. It confirmed that such funding was to address where audit costs have risen faster than fees paid.27 We challenged the Treasury and MHCLG about whether it would need to continue funding the audits of local authorities in future. The Treasury did not rule out doing so going forward.28
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the committee's perceived conclusion that it has taken too long to put plans in place for local audit, despite the committee's observation about funding for audit services. It outlines actions taken to clear the backlog, including statutory backstop dates and a strategy to overhaul local audit.
Government Response
Rejected
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The government does not agree with the Committee’s conclusion that it has taken too long to put these plans in place. Following the election, which led to a change in approach, the government took decisive action. In July 2024, it announced six statutory backstop dates, two of which have already passed, to clear the local audit backlog and allow the system to recover. In December 2024, it launched a strategy to overhaul local audit, and in April 2025, it announced 16 further commitments to streamline and fix the fragmented system.
Source
Committee
Public Accounts Committee
Report
16th Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2022-23
19 Mar 2025
HC 367
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age
1.4 yr
Report published
19 Mar 2025