This consultation invites comments on our proposal for a one-off standardised fee variation relating to audit firms’ project costs arising from the local audit backlog solution, with the costs counting towards MHCLG’s funding route for that solution.
The Local Audit (Appointing Person) Regulations 2015 provide the statutory framework for setting and varying fees for bodies. This consultation is being undertaken under Regulation 17(2A) which allows us to charge a larger or smaller fee to all or a group of bodies where audit work was, or is likely to be, substantially more or less than envisaged by the relevant scale fee. Regulation 17(2B) requires us to consult the bodies affected and the relevant local auditors before charging the fee.
This consultation forms part of the wider local audit reset and recovery arrangements following the statutory backstop dates introduced to address the audit backlog. These arrangements were set out in the statement on the local audit backlog published by the MHCLG in July 2024 and confirmed in the Accounts and Audit (Amendment) Regulations 2024.