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ICAEW’s Public Sector Conference on 10 December ended with a rallying call from Tony Juniper CBE, chair of Natural England, leading one participant to say, “I am very much inspired to inject some energy into a cross-function sustainability group in my department”.
MPs on the Public Accounts Committee quoted ICAEW’s evidence highlighting the need for urgent action to fix the issues in local audit and reporting as they questioned officials on the local government finance system.
The cost of fraud in COVID-19 business support scheme grants is estimated at £1bn but the NAO has warned that the total could be even higher amid data quality and assurance concerns.
A relatively large increase in central government funding for local authorities is likely to be offset by a below-inflation council tax rise next year. Further cuts may be needed to balance the books in local authorities facing rising costs on top of low reserves.
Resolution Foundation and the LSE Centre for Economic Performance say speeding up emissions reduction will require changing behaviours in addition to the UK government’s Net Zero Strategy’s focus on technological innovation.