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 of governance in local authorities. It stated that the disclaimed or modified opinions are due to circumstances largely outside of the control of local bodies and do not 14 WGA 2022–23 p284 15 WGA 2022–23 p285 16 Q 1 17 WGA 2022–23 p18 18 WGA 20...

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 of governance in local authorities. It stated that the disclaimed or modified opinions are due to circumstances largely outside of the control of local bodies and do not 14 WGA 2022–23 p284 15 WGA 2022–23 p285 16 Q 1 17 WGA 2022–23 p18 18 WGA 2022–23 p285 19 Q 13 20 Q 13 10 signify issues in their financial accounts. It added that the causes of the crisis (in local audit) are complex, with no ea Type: conclusion | Number: 10 | Response status: accepted Government response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: September 2025. HM Treasury will respond to the committee within 6 months of the Committee’s report to provide an update on actions taken to address missing and unaudited data. The