Local audit system leadership responsibilities have been transferred back to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) after the FRC had been temporarily responsible for the oversight role since it was first announced in September 2022 by the previous administration.

As part of the transition, Neil Harris, the FRC’s director of local audit, will now be supporting the department as an independent expert adviser, although the FRC has not announced how the move will affect the local audit team at the audit regulator.

An FRC spokesperson said: ‘The FRC is proud of what it has achieved as local audit system leader. It is FRC policy not to comment on individual employees’ circumstances, particularly as we,  like other local audit system members, await the outcome of MHCLG’s consultation to understand how the proposed framework will operate in the future.’

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