Written question WQ100372
- Asked by
- Janet Finch-SaundersConservative
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 2 days
Question
What steps is the Cabinet Minister taking to ensure that town and community councils file their audited accounts within the relevant timescales and that these are published?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning (Siân Gwenllian)
Community and town councils are responsible for meeting their statutory duties, including audit requirements and maintaining financial management and internal controls, as set out in the Accounts and Audit (Wales) Regulations. Audit Wales is responsible for auditing these.
The Welsh Government does not hold data on the most up-to-date information on the submission of community and town council accounts to Audit Wales. This information is held by Audit Wales. However, the latest published Audit Wales report (March 2025) noted around 20% of councils were more than 12 months late submitting their accounts. The Audit Wales report Financial Management and Governance – Lessons from Audit for Community and Town Councils in Wales published in March 2025 reminds councils and elected members of their responsibilities and of the guidance available to support them.
The Welsh Government supports councils to comply and strengthen governance across the sector in the following ways;
• Through One Voice Wales, we provide funding for training bursaries to councillors, prioritising financial management and governance. One Voice Wales is funded to provide a range of support to enable community councils to deliver their statutory duties.
• We provide funding to the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) to support clerks’ sector-specific qualifications and training.
• We led creation of the Finance and Governance Toolkit (co-developed with One Voice Wales, the Society of Local Council Clerks and Audit Wales), specifically to help councils meet their statutory duties.
• We are refreshing the Good Councillor’s Guide in time for the local government elections in May 2027, to equip councillors with the information they need to fulfil their duties.
• The Welsh Government, with sector partners, regularly communicates the importance and public value of maintaining good governance in the sector.
The Welsh Government is working with sector partners and Audit Wales to take forward work from the Senedd Committee’s ‘Inquiry into the role, governance and accountability of the community and town council sector’ to review community council audit system with Audit Wales.