Press releases and statements
This section contains the Audit Commission’s press releases and statements since April 2012. Earlier information is available on the National Archive website (external link).
Local public bodies improve financial reporting and accountability
England’s councils, fire and rescue authorities, police bodies, and other local government bodies, improved the quality and timeliness of their financial reporting in 2011/12. This is a key finding of the Audit Commission’s annual report on the stewardship of taxpayers’ …
Call for greater clarity on councils’ reserves
‘Striking a balance‘, an Audit Commission report, encourages English councils to focus more attention on the £12.9 billion set aside in their reserves – the equivalent of nearly a third of their net spending on services in 2011/12. While the …
Auditors say most councils are coping with cuts, but stress is starting to show
Councils successfully delivered their budgets in the last financial year, despite continued reductions in government funding. Tough Times 2012, published today by the Audit Commission, finds that in 2011/12 councils largely delivered their planned savings and in many cases added to …
Councils ‘more efficient’ at fighting fraud, but new threats emerging
A new report on local government fraud, published today, says that councils are targeting their investigative resources more efficiently and effectively, detecting more than 124,000 cases of fraud in 2011/12 totalling £179 million. But it urges them not to drop …
South London Healthcare NHS Trust is ‘not sustainable’, and radical changes to services are required, warns District Auditor
In a report in the public interest District Auditor Philip Johnstone says that South London Healthcare NHS Trust is: ‘Not sustainable in its current configuration and requires significant and radical changes to current service provision.’ He adds that hard decisions need …