Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014
| Act of Parliament | |
| Long title | An Act to make provision for and in connection with the abolition of the Audit Commission for Local Authorities and the National Health Service in England; to make provision about the accounts of local and certain other public authorities and the auditing of those accounts; to make provision about the appointment, functions and regulation of local auditors; to make provision about data matching; to make provision about examinations by the Comptroller and Auditor General relating to English local and other public authorities; to make provision about the publication of information by smaller authorities; to make provision about compliance with codes of practice on local authority publicity; to make provision about access to meetings and documents of local government bodies; to make provision about council tax referendums; to make provision about polls consequent on parish meetings; and for connected purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2014 c. 2 |
| Introduced by | Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Commons) Baroness Hanham (Lords) |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 30 January 2014 |
| History of passage through Parliament | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (c. 2) is a United Kingdom act of Parliament.
Provisions
Its main provisions:
- abolish the Audit Commission and repeal the Audit Commission Act 1998 (section 1)[1][2]
- establish new arrangements for the audit and accountability of local public bodies[3]
- ensure increases set by levying bodies are taken into account when local authorities determine whether they have set an excessive amount of council tax
- ensure local authorities comply with the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity (section 39), stopping councils from publishing free sheets which were competing with local newspapers[3]
- allow local residents to film, tweet and blog council meetings[4]
- allow the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to alter the number of electors needed to trigger a parish poll
References
- ^ "Statutory arrangements for audit". Local Government Association. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- ^ Bradley, Lynn; Favotto, Alvise; McKernan, John (2023). "Local authority audit in England, playing the field?". Financial Accountability & Management. 39 (2): 286–303. doi:10.1111/faam.12350. ISSN 1468-0408.
- ^ a b "Local Audit and Accountability Bill clears Parliament". Democracy Live. BBC News. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ "Public free to broadcast Croydon Council meetings". East London Times. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2026.