The National Audit Office (NAO) has issued a disclaimed opinion on the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) for 2024-25 for the third year in a row, citing a continued lack of assurance over English local government accounting data.
The WGA, which brings together all public sector assets and liabilities, covering more than 10,000 departments, agencies and other government organisations, was published earlier than in recent years.
However, while more councils submitted accounts than previously, many were unaudited or themselves carried a disclaimed opinion from external auditors, leaving the accuracy of their data unverified.
For English local authorities, 280 submissions were unaudited or disclaimed in 2024-25.
The Government has legislated for a new Local Audit Office as part of efforts to restore normal audit standards.
NAO head Gareth Davies welcomed recent steps but said the work must continue with urgency to ensure reliable, timely financial reporting across local bodies.
‘This work must be progressed with vigour to ensure timely and high-quality financial reporting for every local body, supporting their accountability to local people and providing more reliable whole of government accounts,’ he said.
