PSAA has no power under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 or the Regulations to make arrangements or appointments for assurance on grant certification claims and returns.
Certification requirements for Housing Subsidy are set by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and delivered under a tri-partite agreement between DWP, the local authority, and the supplier firm. These requirements are outside the scope of the Code of Audit Practice.
However, the auditor of a local authority’s financial statements will need to obtain assurance over accounting entries related to benefit payments. We will continue to monitor developments and assess the impact of any changes on this work.