Contributions
869 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)These amendments contain provisions relating to criminal offences and enforcement among audit providers, lead partners and external registration bodies. It is vital that the local…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)The local audit system is broken. There is consensus about that across the House and within this Committee. It is fragmented and has significant capacity and capability…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)indicated assent.28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I thank the hon. Member for his questions. He raised the question of CIPFA, and I committed to clarifying that in writing. I believe we have done so, but I will make sure that we…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)That is a very niche question. I will have to write back to the hon. Member to clarify.28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)Let me first clarify that no decision has yet been made on who will deliver public provision. It is important to state that. The Bill is drafted deliberately to allow flexibility,…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)Clause 63 is central to our reform agenda. It will give the new Local Audit Office responsibility for appointing auditors for all local authorities, as well as some other local…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)We are trying to ensure that there is a coherent system operating across all of local government. That is the core role that the LAO will play. The system is fragmented at the…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I dare not do the job of the Local Audit Office, or indeed trained auditors, and go into detail. This provision creates powers for the LAO to design a system that works for local…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I apologise to the hon. Member for the lack of response—I will make sure we get one to him swiftly. Inevitably, different accounting standards will be used. We will set out…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I completely agree with the importance of protecting community assets from unscrupulous owners, but it is not clear that new clause 12 is wholly necessary or appropriate, and I am…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)Clause 62 will establish a new framework for the regulation of local auditors, which will be overseen by the Local Audit Office. Independent reviews have been consistently clear…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I am happy to write to clarify that key point. Everything that we are doing through these new clauses and this reform package is in order to ensure that we have a system that is…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)We recognise that we have a challenge in bringing in sufficient audit capacity of the standard we need. That is the status quo. We are working closely with the sector to ensure…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)The clause will change the current requirement whereby local audits may be signed off only by a key audit partner—a senior auditor who meets specific eligibility criteria…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)This clause will transfer responsibility for the code of audit practice from the Comptroller and Auditor General at the National Audit Office to the Local Audit Office. The clause…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)Decision making at the local authority level will remain. Accountability to the constituents in the local authority will remain. We are not fundamentally changing that regime, and…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)Let me deal directly with amendments 18 and 17. I reiterate to the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon what I have consistently said: the governance regime of local government…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)If the hon. Member wants examples, one example—I am sure that we can give others based on the conversations that we have had with local government—is that pensions do not drive…28 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Eleventh sitting)It is not wild or out there to say that the new auditing body we are creating should have full flexibility to ensure that the standards being applied are appropriate. The feedback…28 Oct 2025