Labour urge opposition Tories to work constructively following claims Council’s unaudited accounts are in “tatters”

WHILE opposition Tories claim Warrington Borough Council’s unaudited accounts spanning almost six years are in “tatters” Labour blames a national backlog facing various councils around the country.

After again coming under fire from the Tories Labour’s finance spokesperson Cllr Dennis Matthews is now encouraging all opposition councillors to constructively work with the Labour administration “to better serve the residents of Warrington.”

It follows the latest criticism from Tory finance spokesperson Cllr. Ken Critchley who says that the February Audit and Corporate Governance committee meeting, the external auditor told the meeting that due to the delays in the receipt of data from the Labour-led Council, the long outstanding 2018/19 audit of the statutory accounts was now in danger of not being completed at all.
Cllr Critchley said: “This would create almost six years of unaudited figures for a Council who in that time have racked up £1.8Bn of debt and a string of poorly performing or failed investments.
“At the ACGC meeting, the external Auditor revealed the Labour-led Council had failed to meet a number of deadlines for the provision of key information covering MRP, Housing Association Loans, creditor testing and the Loans to the Solar Farms, which he described as requiring a complex assessment.
“He also revealed that Grant Thornton had set a deadline of 31st March to complete prior period audits and if not completed by that date those audits will potentially fall into the back stop provisions currently being proposed to bring local government accounts up to date which would mean for Warrington six years of accounts would be audited as part of the 2023/24 audit.
“The ball is now squarely with the Labour-led Council to meet the latest deadlines to produce the information the external auditor has been requesting.

Cllr. Critchley added: “This is a shocking state of affairs to have almost six years of unaudited accounts.
“This would be shocking for financial credibility for any Council but for a Council with £1.8 Bn of debt and uniquely complex investments, this is completely unacceptable.
“The Labour Council spent far too long in dispute with the external auditor over the 2017/18 accounts and have allowed this unacceptable backlog to develop.
“How can we have any confidence in critical numbers like the true level of reserves! When the accounts have not been audited for almost six years!
“Credibility of the financial position is absolutely crucial as the Council heads into 2024/25.
“With nearly six years of unaudited accounts that credibility is in tatters.”

Labour’s Finance spokesperson Denis Matthews responded:“As I am sure local Warrington Conservative councillors will be aware, the Conservative Government have acknowledged that the national backlog in the publication of audited accounts of local authorities in England has grown to an unacceptable level. On the 31st of December 2023, the backlog of outstanding audit opinions stood at 771.
“To clear the backlog of historical accounts and ‘reset’ the system, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) proposed the “backstop date” – 30 September 2024 – by which point local bodies would publish audited accounts for all outstanding years up to and including 2022/23.
“Following the closure of the Audit Commission in March 2015, delays in signing accounts have become a national issue and the government appears to have acknowledged this and taken action.
“What I find surprising is that the local Conservative Group appear to be unaware of the national picture behind the delays experienced by English councils in signing off their accounts. I am always happy to speak with local Conservative councillors regarding any concerns that they have, but it must be accepted that WBC operates under the accounting structure that the national Conservative Government have set.
“It is not the Warrington Labour administration who have created the circumstances that have allowed the national backlog to develop.
“Rather than finding fault in things that councils cannot control, I would encourage all opposition councillors to constructively work with the Labour administration to better serve the residents of Warrington.”
A Warrington Borough Council spokesperson added: “Grant Thorton is now finalising their work and we are still on track to have the accounts signed off by the end of March.
“Delays to signing accounts is a national issue, and not just confined to Warrington. Since the abolition of the Audit Commission, these delays have only increased. As at January 2024 there were 736 years of accounts outstanding.”