Council Leader Russell Bowden has hit out at the 'lack of capacity' after reports Warrington Borough Council hadn't been audited in five years. 

99% of councils across England did not have their 2022-23 financial accounts signed off by this year’s deadline, with Warrington Borough Council amongst this vast number.

Warrington Borough Council, however, have not been audited going as far back as 2017. This is despite the council’s debt of £1.8 billion, forecasted to rise to £2.3 billion by 2026.

This was recently found to be one of the highest levels of debt relative to a town’s size in the country.

By not being audited, governmental experts claim that the lack of scrutiny leaves room for unexpected financial difficulty, risky behaviour, and financial irregularities to go unnoticed.

Russell Bowden, Leader of Warrington Council, said on Twitter (X): “This brutally exposes the lack of capacity & expertise in the commercial audit sector and is a direct result of this Government scrapping the Audit Commission.”

Meg Hillier, chair of the Commons public accounts committee said: “This lack of scrutiny of councils’ finances removes any early warning system for local authorities in financial difficulty. 

“The implications for public services do not bear thinking about at both the local and national level, and for the lives of people who depend on them.”

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “We are taking action to tackle the local audit backlog and make the system more sustainable and timely.

“In July, the minister for local government wrote to the sector and the chair of the levelling up committee to share proposals to address these issues, agreed in principle with key partners.

“We intend to begin implementing changes following further engagement.”