20th June 2026
The Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) is the UK’s single consolidated set of financial statements covering over 10,000 public bodies — central government, NHS, local authorities, devolved governments, academies, and public corporations. It is globally unique and is meant to give Parliament and the public a full picture of the state’s finances.
But the 2024–25 publication reveals serious structural issues, especially around audit quality, data completeness, and the size of long‑term liabilities.
Below is a clear breakdown.
1. What the WGA Is Designed to Do
The WGA aims to provide:
A single, IFRS‑based view of the entire public sector’s finances
Transparency on assets, liabilities, income, and expenditure
A long‑term picture of the UK’s fiscal position
A tool for Parliament and the Public Accounts Committee to scrutinise government spending
It is used by:
Parliament
HM Treasury
The Office for Budget Responsibility
Academics and fiscal analysts
2. Key Features of the 2024–25 Accounts
A. Covers over 10,000 public bodies
This includes:
Central government departments
NHS bodies
Local authorities
Devolved governments
Public corporations (e.g., Bank of England)
B. Shows the UK’s largest liabilities
The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) provided additional analysis of the biggest liabilities:
Public sector pensions
Clinical negligence liabilities
These are shown both:
In present value (discounted) terms
On an undiscounted basis
This helps readers understand whether liabilities are rising because of real changes or simply because discount rates moved.
C. Improved transparency on discounting
Changes in discount rates can dramatically alter the reported size of liabilities.
The Public Accounts Committee asked for clearer disclosure, and this year’s WGA includes it.
3. The Major Problems Identified in the 2024–25 WGA
This is where things get serious.
A. The Auditor Disclaimed the Entire WGA — Again
The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) issued a disclaimed opinion on the WGA for the third year in a row.
A disclaimed opinion means:
The auditor cannot give any assurance that the accounts are accurate
The problems are so severe that the auditor cannot even form a view
This is extremely rare in public or private sector accounting.
Why was the opinion disclaimed?
Because of continuing backlogs in English local authority accounts and audits.
Local authority accounts feed into the WGA. If they are late, missing, or unaudited, the WGA cannot be fully trusted.
B. Missing data and inconsistent accounting
The WGA summary shows:
Missing data
Unaudited data
Inconsistent accounting treatments
Boundary issues (i.e., which bodies should or should not be included)
This undermines the reliability of the consolidated figures.
C. Slow data collection and poor returns
As of September 2024:
Only 51% of bodies had submitted Cycle 1 returns
Only 16% had submitted Cycle 2 returns
This is a major bottleneck and contributes to the audit problems.
D. Long‑term liabilities remain extremely large
The WGA highlights huge long‑term obligations, including:
Public sector pensions
Clinical negligence claims
These liabilities are sensitive to discount rates, meaning small changes in assumptions can shift the numbers by tens of billions.
E. The WGA is published very late
The 2024–25 WGA was published in June 2026 — more than a year after the period ended.
This reduces its usefulness for real‑time fiscal decision‑making.
4. Why These Problems Matter
1. Parliament cannot rely on the numbers
A disclaimed audit opinion means MPs cannot use the WGA to properly scrutinise government spending.
2. Local authority audit failures are now a national fiscal risk
Because local authority accounts feed into the WGA, their audit backlog undermines the entire system.
3. Long‑term liabilities are huge and volatile
Public sector pensions and clinical negligence liabilities are among the largest in the world.
Understanding them is essential for long‑term fiscal planning.
4. Transparency is weakened
Missing data and inconsistent accounting reduce public trust.
5. The Bottom Line
The Whole of Government Accounts 2024–25 is an essential transparency tool — but it is currently hampered by:
A third consecutive disclaimed audit opinion
Missing and unaudited data
Local authority audit backlogs
Inconsistent accounting treatments
Very large, volatile long‑term liabilities
Despite these issues, the WGA remains one of the most comprehensive public‑sector financial reports in the world. But until the audit and data‑quality problems are fixed, its usefulness is limited.
The reports are very big and not easy to grasp but if you have plenty stamina here is the link
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/whole-of-government-accounts-2024-25