In response to your recent article reporting that Hampshire County Council will not have its accounts properly audited for 2022/23, I wish to reassure your readers by providing further clarity on the position.
There is a huge backlog of local authority audits across the country, created in part due to delays during Covid and also due to some high-profile national issues around the valuation of infrastructure assets (such as roads).
Neither of these issues is under the control of Hampshire County Council, which has produced and published its draft accounts in line with the legal timeframes throughout this period and, unlike many other authorities, has had all their accounts audited and signed off up to and including the 2021/22 financial year.
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While it’s correct to say that Hampshire’s accounts will not be properly audited for 2022/23, this is entirely down to national factors and does not reflect negatively on the county council in any way.
Past history shows us that Hampshire has been consistently praised for its strong financial management and quality of its accounts – receiving a clean bill of health every year for decades.
Had a full audit therefore been possible, I have no doubts the same would have been the case for 2022/23.
Councillor Derek Mellor,
Chairman of the Hampshire County Council Audit Committee,
The Castle,
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