Our first annual report of auditors' certification work in 2008/09, which is available to download from this page, covers claims and returns in England totalling £45.6 billion.
Auditors have found that most claims for grants and subsidies have been completed by councils in line with the terms and conditions set by grant-paying bodies. But there is room for improvement. Claims and returns were corrected by £54.5 million as a result of our auditors' work, which found errors or examples of non-compliance with grant terms and conditions. Auditors flag up these issues with claimant councils and those who pay grants.
Housing and council tax benefits are a particular concern with 85 per cent of claims qualified, amended, or both by auditors. The report says the complexity of the system and large volume of transactions provides much scope for error. Common issues are difficulty with documentation to support payments to benefit claimants and data entry errors.
Some authorities need to improve their practices. The number of qualification letters issued by auditors to authorities, signalling concerns with a claim or return, increased from 626 in 2007/08 to 673 last year: 24 per cent of claims and returns had qualification letters.
Authorities need to:
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