Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement entitled Local Government Finance Settlement, HCWS342, published on 18 December 2024, whether she plans create the Local Audit Office as (a) an executive agency, (b) a non-departmental public body, (c) a public corporation or (d) another category of body.

The government’s local audit strategy committed to establish the Local Audit Office (LAO) to streamline and simplify the audit system and drive change.

The LAO will be a statutory and independent arm’s-length body of MHCLG, adopting functions currently fragmented across the framework to bring together strategic oversight and technical expertise to identify and address challenges swiftly. The full remit and status of the LAO will be determined following consultation, which closed on 29 January.