The huge backlog has resulted in a radical plan to give local authorities a final deadline of 30 September 2024 to publish signed-off audited accounts for all outstanding years up to and including 2022/23.

There was a backlog of 771 outstanding audit opinions at the end of December 2023, a slight improvement on September’s figure of 918, although some date back years.

‘The backlog in the publication of audited accounts of local bodies in England has grown to an unacceptable level,’ the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said. ‘All system partners share the conviction that bold steps are necessary to reset the system and recognise the exceptional nature of the proposed measures.’

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