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 p. 3 of the document entitled The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies: Guidance for Departments, last update 15 March 2018, whether she has had discussions with the Cabinet Office Public Bodies Team on the establishment of the Local Audit Office as a last resort.

The local audit system is broken, which is why we have a manifesto commitment to overhaul it. The strategy, including the establishment of the Local Audit Office, was based on considerable independent and parliamentary consideration of how to best tackle the issues. The specific proposal to establish a new body, the Local Audit Office, was first recommended in the independent 2018 Kingman Review and again two years later in the Redmond Review. Since those reviews, the problems in local audit have considerably worsened and the most recent Whole of Government Accounts have been disclaimed. My officials have been working with officials across Government including the Cabinet Office in recognition of the need for substantial reform. The Cabinet Office Public Bodies Team is aware of progress and will have final approval on the establishment and classification of the LAO, as required by the 2018 guidance.