Whole of Government Accounts

Improving Public Sector Financial Reporting

New Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) will build on the successful Resource Accounting and Budgeting project for central Government departments to produce a new single commercial-style account covering the whole public sector.

Chancellor Gordon Brown announced in the Pre-Budget Report that the first WGAs published will be those for 2006-2007. WGA will be subject to independent scrutiny by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

WGA will provide a balance sheet showing assets and liabilities for the whole of the UK public sector - including local authorities, NHS Trusts and public corporations as well as central Government departments - as well as other information required by best-practice accounting methods.

Welcoming the decision to publish WGA, Chief Secretary Paul Boateng said:

“Whole of Government Accounts will increase the transparency of Government finances, improve the completeness and comparability of public sector financial data and demonstrate its integrity. The data collected will provide better, more complete information, for policy making.

“Including public sector bodies beyond central Government is essential to achieving the full benefits from WGA. In particular, it will improve the overall management of essential public assets such as schools, roads and hospitals.”

Notes for editors

1. The Government committed in the Code for Fiscal Stability, published in March 1998,to produce consolidated accounts for the whole public sector where reasonably practicable.

2. An Initial feasibility study for WGA was published in July 1998. This suggested that it might be possible to produce WGA, but recommended a staged approach to producing them.

3. The Government introduced legislation in the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 allowing for the production of WGA, their audit and giving the Treasury the framework to require the necessary information from other parts of the public sector.

4. Full WGAs will build on work already underway to publish a single set of financial accounts for central government (CGA) for 2003-04 onwards. CGAs will cover central government departments, non-departmental public bodies and the Government’s debt and reserves.

5. Development work on CGA has identified solutions to many of the issues that will need to be overcome in producing WGA. The Government is now confident that WGA can be produced and intends publishing them for the first time for 2006-07. Dry-run development processes will take place for 2004/05 and 2005/06.

6. In addition to bodies included in CGA, WGA will include local authorities, NHS trusts and public corporations. More than 1200 bodies will be included in the accounts. It is estimated that around a third of the total of public sector fixed assets, by value, will be included in CGA. WGA will also include the remaining two thirds – the majority of which are held by local authorities.

7. Only a few other countries produce WGA, with the forerunners being New Zealand and Australia. When UK WGA are published they will be the most comprehensive set of public sector financial statements in the world, as no other countries currently include local government.

8. Further information is available on the WGA website.

9. Media enquires should be addressed to Charles Keseru in the Treasury press office on 020 7270 5188.

10. Non-media enquiries should be addressed to the Treasury Public Enquiry Unit on 020 7270 4558.

11. This press release and other Treasury publications and information are available on the Treasury website. If you would like Treasury press releases to be sent to you automatically by e-mail you can subscribe to this service from the press release site on the website.

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