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This briefing paper explains the local government accountability framework that operates in England. It provides details of the Office for Local Government (OFLOG) established in 2023, the operation of local audit in England, and detail of the role of ‘value for money’ in local public audit. It provides details of significant backlogs in local authority auditing in the early 2020s, plus the Government’s measures to address this issue.

Revised procedures for ‘local audit’ in England took full effect in the 2018-19 financial year. They were introduced by the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. ‘Local audit’ relates to the audit procedure which must be followed by local authorities, fire authorities, Police and Crime Commissioners, Clinical Commissioning Groups, and various related bodies in England.

Separate arrangements exist in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where public audit (covering both local audit and the role of the National Audit Office in England) is managed by Audit Scotland, the Wales Audit Office, and the Northern Ireland Audit Office respectively.


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