Foreword
In April 2025 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) issued its plans to reform local audit. These plans include the establishment of a Local Audit Office (LAO) to oversee local audit, to simplify and streamline the current fragmented system, and to ensure efficiency, transparency and value for money. We publicly welcomed the plans for local audit reform and are actively supporting them to deliver meaningful change. As part of the reforms, our appointing person functions will transition into the LAO, most likely within the next two years.
We are pleased to introduce our Summary Business Plan for the period through to March 2028. The plan summarises who we are, what we do, and how we will continue to carry out the role of the Appointing Person under the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 and the Local Audit (Appointing Person) Regulations 2015.
During this period of change, we remain fully committed to working collaboratively with MHCLG and other key partners. Our focus is on helping to lay the groundwork for the LAO, ensuring that the new structure is built on a strong and stable foundation. At the same time, we are prioritising continuity and stability, so that the transition is smooth and effective for all stakeholders involved. This business plan covers the period of our transition to the new arrangements so sets out a programme of work to enable us to continue to deliver our appointing person role, support the Government to reform local audit and establish the LAO.
We are committed to good governance and transparency recognising that we spend public money and act on behalf of a significant number of local government bodies.
Bill Butler
Chairman
Tony Crawley
Chief Executive