Local audit in England
This paper explains how local government audit operates in England, local audit procedures and delays in the early 2020s, and the 2024 Labour government's plans for reform to the local audit system.
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.
The 2024 Labour government has proposed a significant reshaping of this system, set out in a consultation published in December 2024 and a response to the consultation in April 2025.
This briefing paper provides details of the local audit procedures operating in England as at April 2025. It provides some historical information about the previous audit regime operated by the Audit Commission between 1983 and 2015. It sets out details of significant backlogs in local authority auditing in the early 2020s, plus the government’s measures to address this issue. It summarises the Labour government’s proposals for a new Local Audit Office.
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.