16th Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2022-23

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 367 19 March 2025
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 33 items (4 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 33 of 33 classified)
Accepted 28
Not Addressed 1
Rejected 4
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Sixteenth report from Session 2024-25 · published 16 May 2025
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Recommendations & Conclusions

33 results
2 Conclusion Accepted
MHCLG should write to the Committee setting out key dates for local authority audit resolution
Conclusion
The Treasury and MHCLG have plans to try and fix the crisis in local authority audit arrangements, but it has taken too long to put these plans in place. The number of missing and unaudited bodies had increased consistently since … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government committed to sending a letter to the Committee setting out key dates related to local authority audit arrangements and confirmed the letter was sent on 7 May 2025.
HM Treasury
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3 Conclusion Accepted
MHCLG should explain approach to identifying local authorities under financial pressure and audit deadline consequences
Conclusion
We are concerned that MHCLG does not have sufficient oversight of local government to foresee issues and intervene where appropriate. Government’s ability to effectively monitor financial pressure within local authorities is inevitably undermined while authorities are not producing audited accounts, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation but disagrees with the premise that it lacks oversight, stating it already uses modelling and financial information to monitor local authorities, as detailed in an accompanying letter. It does not explicitly commit to setting out new consequences for non-compliance within six months.
HM Treasury
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4 Conclusion Accepted
Continue improving WGA accessibility, considering a 'pocket handbook' and setting out digitisation plans
Conclusion
The Treasury has made some improvements to the accessibility of WGA and the information it contains, but there is still more work to do. We recognise the efforts the Treasury has made to make the WGA more accessible. These measures … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and commits to designing a draft summary WGA pocketbook after the 2023-24 WGA is published, to be shared with the committee prior to publication. It will continue to assess opportunities for digitisation but prioritises completing the WGA recovery plan first.
HM Treasury
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5 Conclusion Accepted
Include additional WGA information on undiscounted liabilities, trend analysis, and actuarial assumptions
Conclusion
The impact of discount rate changes is obscuring the ability to identify meaningful trends in large public sector financial liabilities within the WGA. The discount rate is the rate of return used to discount future cash flows when calculating a … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and commits to publishing undiscounted data where available and including long-term trend analysis of significant assets and liabilities in the 2023-24 WGA performance report, alongside updates on liability management. It notes that accounting standards already require disclosure of other actuarial assumptions and sensitivities.
HM Treasury
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6 Conclusion Accepted
Outline how WGA disclosures will be updated to ensure long-term financial risks are transparent
Conclusion
The WGA is not sufficiently focused on long–term financial risk. One purpose of the WGA is to provide a comprehensive picture of the UK’s public sector finances and inform more effective management of fiscal risks. The WGA 2022–23 includes narrative … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and will focus on including long-term trend information, dating back to the first published WGA, in the 2023-24 WGA to improve transparency on long-term financial risks.
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion Accepted
Committee scrutinised Whole of Government Accounts for year ending March 2023
Conclusion
On the basis of the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) for the year ended 31 March 2023, we took evidence from HM Treasury (the Treasury) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).1
Government Response Summary
The government responded by outlining several actions it has taken and will take to address missing and unaudited data for WGA, including writing to local authorities to set expectations for 2024-25 participation and expecting a reduction in missing data.
HM Treasury
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7 Conclusion Accepted
Significant missing data and misstated liabilities impact Whole of Government Accounts accuracy
Conclusion
The Treasury estimated that there is approximately £133.6 billion of property, plant and equipment missing from the accounts, and approximately 104.6bn of missing public sector pension liability.16 The overall impact of missing data across the accounts is estimated to be … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to address missing and unaudited data by providing an update within six months, expecting a reduction in missing data for 2024-25 due to MHCLG's work, and HM Treasury communicating expectations to local authorities for WGA 2024-25 participation.
HM Treasury
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8 Conclusion Accepted
Substantial portions of Whole of Government Accounts are based on unaudited draft data
Conclusion
The WGA does not contain detailed analysis of the impact of unaudited data on a line by line basis, but the C&AG notes that £35.1bn of total net expenditure and £93.6bn of total net assets are reported in the WGA based on unaudited draft data.18
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation, committing to update the committee by September 2025 on actions taken to address missing and unaudited data, expecting reductions in missing data for 2024-25 due to MHCLG's work and proactive communication with local authorities.
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Accepted
Treasury acknowledges WGA reliability issues, expressing belief in future improvements despite problems
Conclusion
We challenged the Treasury about the impact of the missing data and the poor quality of a some of the data being consolidated into the WGA. The Treasury acknowledged that the accounts being disclaimed on the basis of such issues … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and commits to several specific actions to address missing and unaudited data, including reporting updates, expecting reductions in missing data, and engaging with local authorities for WGA 2024-25.
HM Treasury
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10 Conclusion Accepted
Systemic local audit issues, not authority failings, cause widespread missing WGA submissions
Conclusion
The Local Government Association (LGA) provided us with written evidence and commented that the high number of missing audit submissions to WGA from English local government is due to widespread systemic issues with local audit and not due to failings … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government commits to providing an update to the committee within six months (September 2025) on actions taken to address missing and unaudited data, acknowledging the systemic issues highlighted by the LGA.
HM Treasury
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11 Conclusion Accepted
New statutory backstop dates for local audits improve timeliness but increase disclaimed opinions
Conclusion
The government legislated on 9 September 2024 to implement a series of statutory deadlines, or backstop dates, by which the audits of English Local Authority accounts must be complete. The first backstop date to complete audits of accounts relating to … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states that the recommendation is implemented (May 2025) and clarifies it does not agree with the committee's assessment regarding the time taken to implement these plans, outlining actions already taken through legislation and strategies.
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion Accepted
Treasury prioritises WGA timeliness, aiming to reverse rapid rise in missing accounts post-COVID
Conclusion
We asked the Treasury what its plan was for achieving timeliness as well as removing of the disclaimer opinion from the WGA’s accounts, and how it would achieve both at once. The Treasury told us that there was a rapid … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government commits to providing an update to the committee within six months (September 2025) on actions taken to address missing and unaudited data, anticipating a reduction in missing data for 2024-25.
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion 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 … Read more
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.
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion Rejected
MHCLG plans to simplify local authority financial reporting to resolve audit issues
Conclusion
The Treasury and MHCLG also described other measures that they think will resolve the local authority audit issues. Beyond the backstop and additional funding, MHCLG said it is working to simplify the financial reporting requirements for local authorities, as the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the committee's perceived conclusion that it has taken too long to put plans in place for resolving local authority audit issues. It details its decisive actions, including announcing statutory backstop dates and launching a strategy to overhaul local audit.
HM Treasury
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15 Conclusion Accepted
MHCLG plans Local Audit Office creation to centralise oversight, though LGA expresses reservations
Conclusion
MHCLG has announced its intention to create a Local Audit Office (LAO) that will support with the interpretation of international standards for local authority audits.30 The proposed remit of the LAO was included in MHCLG’s strategy published in December 2024 … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government stated that the recommendation is already implemented as of May 2025, detailing actions taken by MHCLG to establish the Local Audit Office and address the local audit backlog, disagreeing that it has taken too long.
HM Treasury
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16 Conclusion Rejected
Insufficient audited accounts undermine local authority transparency and financial health.
Conclusion
We questioned MHCLG as to whether it has sufficient oversight over local government to foresee financial issues and intervene where appropriate. The lack of audited accounts being published leads to a lack of transparency over local authority matters during a … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees that MHCLG lacks sufficient oversight of local government, stating that MHCLG uses existing modelling and financial information to understand the sector's resilience.
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion Rejected
Treasury and MHCLG claim alternative methods monitor local authority financial health.
Conclusion
The Treasury believes that it and MHCLG do know what is going on in the local authority area, and that there are other ways, beyond audited accounts, for them to check the financial health of a local authority.37 MHCLG added … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the premise that MHCLG lacks sufficient oversight of local government, stating that MHCLG uses modelling and other financial information to understand the sector's resilience.
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion Accepted
MHCLG's oversight gaps exacerbated by increasing delays in local authority accounts.
Conclusion
As such, MHCLG told us that it had a good understanding of the financial pressures facing particular local authorities and that it was confident in knowing where the issues were.39 MHCLG did note though that quirks can occur, referencing Barnet … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the committee's implied criticism of MHCLG's oversight, asserting that MHCLG already uses modelling and various financial information to understand local authority financial resilience, and states the recommendation is implemented.
HM Treasury
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19 Recommendation Not Addressed
Require MHCLG to always seek explanations for late local authority accounts.
Recommendation
We also expressed concern as to whether MHCLG has the tools necessary to ensure local authorities produce audited accounts in future in line with the various backstop deadlines. MHCLG replied that, though backstop requirements are statutory, in the event a … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government's response states it disagrees that MHCLG lacks sufficient oversight but does not address the specific recommendation for MHCLG to always ask for explanations regarding late local authority accounts.
HM Treasury
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20 Conclusion Accepted
Treasury significantly improved WGA quality and accessibility through new reporting sections.
Conclusion
In the 2022–23 WGA, the Treasury has added new sections to the performance report, improving the quality and accessibility of reporting in the accounts.45 These include new accounting spotlight sections that address key areas such as consolidation, new accounting standards … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's observation of WGA improvements and commits to designing a draft WGA pocketbook after the 2023-24 WGA is published (Autumn 2025) and sharing it with the committee.
HM Treasury
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21 Recommendation Accepted
Treasury plans to enhance WGA clarity by consolidating information and linking external data.
Recommendation
We asked the Treasury how it would resolve information on given topics, such as pensions, being dispersed across the accounts. It replied that, whilst the notes and accounts are prepared in line with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and therefore … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation, agreeing to bring information together in the WGA performance report by July 2025, specifically by publishing undiscounted data and long-term trend analysis in the 2023-24 WGA and reviewing linkages.
HM Treasury
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22 Conclusion Accepted
Treasury provides WGA training sessions to enhance parliamentary understanding and utility.
Conclusion
We queried what the Treasury was doing to help MPs better understand and make use of the WGA. In response, the Treasury told us that it has previously offered WGA sessions for new MPs as part of their induction programme. … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to design and share a draft WGA pocketbook after the 2023-24 WGA publication (Autumn 2025) and reiterates its openness to provide briefings to MPs on WGA upon request.
HM Treasury
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23 Conclusion Accepted
Treasury plans WGA format improvements, including trend analysis and increased digital content.
Conclusion
In response to our questions on how the Treasury will improve the format of the WGA in future, the Treasury told us that it plans to improve the quality of reporting in the WGA in future publications, after it has … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and confirms its plan to focus the 2023-24 WGA on including long-term trend information back to the first published WGA, with a target implementation date of July 2025.
HM Treasury
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24 Conclusion Accepted
WGA discount rate adjustments obscured the actual increase in nuclear decommissioning costs.
Conclusion
The WGA includes several large provisions which change substantially from year to year. For example, the provision for future decommissioning of nuclear facilities has decreased by £126.2 billion from £273.1 billion in 2021–22 to £146.9 billion in 2022–23, with the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to improve the 2023-24 WGA performance report by publishing undiscounted data, including long-term trend analysis of significant assets and liabilities, and reviewing the presentation of discount rate information (July 2025).
HM Treasury
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25 Conclusion Accepted
Public sector pension liability changes lack distinct breakdown of discount rate impact.
Conclusion
The net public sector pension liability also reduced, from £2,639 billion at the end of 2021–22, to £1,415 billion at 31 March 2023 due to changes in underlying actuarial assumptions, including the changes to the discount rate.56 However, it is … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to improve the 2023-24 WGA performance report by publishing undiscounted data, including long-term trend analysis of significant assets and liabilities, and reviewing the presentation of discount rate information (July 2025).
HM Treasury
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26 Recommendation Accepted
Discount rate volatility hinders clear understanding of WGA Net Liabilities for ordinary readers.
Recommendation
We challenged the Treasury over the difficulty that an ordinary reader would have understand the actual movement in large liabilities from year to year.58 Written evidence received from Professor David Heald also noted that the recent volatility of the discount … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation, committing to publishing undiscounted data and long-term trend analysis in the 2023-24 WGA performance report by July 2025, and reviewing linkages to streamline content.
HM Treasury
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27 Conclusion Accepted
Reduction in WGA pension liabilities reflects actuarial assumptions, not real financial gain.
Conclusion
We received written evidence from the ICAEW which states that the significant reduction in pensions liabilities presented within the 2022–23 WGA is the most significant change in the balance sheet for the government, and is primarily due to actuarial assumptions, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to improve the 2023-24 WGA performance report by publishing undiscounted data, including long-term trend analysis of significant assets and liabilities, and reviewing the presentation of discount rate information (July 2025).
HM Treasury
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28 Recommendation Accepted
WGA reporting on actuarial assumptions impacting unfunded pension liability requires further improvement.
Recommendation
We questioned the Treasury about the clarity of reporting within the WGA on the impact of actuarial assumptions on the unfunded pension liability figure reported.62 It replied that the WGA disclosure of such factors had improved from previous years, but … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation, committing to publishing undiscounted data and long-term trend analysis in the 2023-24 WGA performance report by July 2025, and reviewing linkages to streamline content.
HM Treasury
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29 Conclusion Accepted
Multiple economic shocks and demographic pressures strain UK public finances, risking unsustainable debt.
Conclusion
The WGA highlights the succession of economic shocks that the UK has been affected by in recent years, straining public finances.64 The accounts detail several specific risks to the UK’s public finances going forward. These include costs of resolving, mitigating … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and plans to include long-term trend information back to the first published WGA in the 2023-24 WGA, with a target implementation date of July 2025.
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30 Conclusion Accepted
OBR forecasts serve as primary gauge for public spending sustainability, WGA provides broader view.
Conclusion
The WGA gives a big picture view of the financial position of the UK government.66 We questioned the Treasury on the financial sustainability of public spending, to which it responded that the OBR forecast that accompanied the autumn budget, rather … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and plans to include long-term trend information back to the first published WGA in the 2023-24 WGA, with a target implementation date of July 2025.
HM Treasury
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31 Conclusion Accepted
OBR projections indicate public debt will triple within 50 years, necessitating policy changes.
Conclusion
We challenged the Treasury on how seriously it is taking the sustainability of government finances, to which it stated that it was taking the matter very seriously. It commented that the OBR’s fiscal sustainability report includes a 50–year forecast and … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee and plans to include long-term trend information from the first published WGA in the 2023-24 WGA, with a target implementation date of July 2025.
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32 Conclusion Accepted
Addressing adult social care and future cost drivers is crucial for long-term fiscal sustainability.
Conclusion
We asked the Treasury to explain the actions needed to address the issues that are putting pressure on public finances and risking the sustainability of spending in the long term. The Treasury noted that work was needed on adult social … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government commits to improving the 2023-24 WGA by including long-term trend information (July 2025) to provide useful data on the evolution of key balances, acknowledging the importance of understanding fiscal sustainability and long-term spending pressures.
HM Treasury
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33 Conclusion Accepted
Significant WGA deficit in 2022-23 highlights urgent need for a long-term fiscal strategy.
Conclusion
Written evidence we received from the ICAEW stressed that, in the absence of discount rates noted in earlier sections, the UK government had a deficit of £200 billion in 2022–23. The ICAEW noted that this deficit is more than 20% … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee and plans to include long-term trend information back to the first published WGA in the 2023-24 WGA, with a target implementation date of July 2025.
HM Treasury
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