Public Kept in Dark as Council Misses Accounts Publication Deadline

Westmorland and Furness Council has failed to publish its unaudited accounts for the council's inaugural financial year ending 31st March 2024 within the statutory deadline for publication.

Every council must publish a Statement of Accounts intended to provide publicly available information to demonstrate how the council has stewarded public money over the past financial year also sets out the council’s financial position.

Westmorland and Furness Councils failure to publish its accounts for public inspection means residents are unable to scrutinise how their money has been spent by the council over the first 12months of the new council and the financial position of the council.

Under the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015, the council has a legal duty to make its unaudited accounts available for public inspection for a continuous period of 30 working days, including the first 10 working days of June. The Council has missed this deadline, leaving local taxpayers in the dark about how the council has spent their money over the last year. The public’s right to inspect these accounts is enshrined in legislation to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.

The Council has blamed the delay in publishing the accounts on "the complexities of additional work required in year one of the new unitary authority," which was established on 1st April 2023. 

Pam Duke, the Director of Resources, has said that a draft set of accounts will be published "as soon as reasonably practicable.", although no firm timeframe has been given by the council beyond the vague assurance, That has been used by Westmorland and Furness Council over the past year in response to challenges made over the councils failure to publish its monthly spending on corporate credit cards as required under the local transparency code, the council has to date not published since April 2023.

The Accounts and Audit Regulations also specify that ‘audited’ Statement of accounts should be published by the 30th September each year by councils.

A notice is expected to be published by Westmorland and Furness Council once the draft accounts are finalised, detailing the period for public inspection. Until then, residents remain in the dark regarding the state of the council's finances and spending over the first year of Westmorland and Furness Council.