The closure of the ‘wasteful and ineffective’ Audit Commission is on track to save the taxpayer over £1bn, local government minister Brandon Lewis has said today.
Lewis said the decision to abolish the Audit Commission has already delivered savings of £400m, while the outsourcing of its audit work has reduced council audit fees by 40%.
Mr Lewis said: ‘The decision to abolish the Audit Commission was because it was a wasteful, ineffective and undemocratic. What should have been a voice for taxpayers became a creature of the central state.
‘Instead of just auditing accounts: it was regulating, micromanaging, and inspecting, forcing councils to spend time ticking boxes and filling in forms rather than getting on with the business of local government.
‘Our new law will replace this old fashioned quango by passing power down to people through more local choice and transparency. Better local audit arrangements will replace central dictat and as a result we remain on track to save taxpayers £1.2bn.’
The Government is currently drawing up regulations for new local audit procedures to scrutinise councils and other local authorities. A consultation has also been published today on the proposed new transparency requirements for parish councils, which are exempt from the new local audit regime.
