People’s Audit of Lewisham Council’s Accounts Open

Like all local authorities, the London Borough of Lewisham accounts must be audited. Parliament has decided that there should be an opportunity for any one interested to inspect and make copies of the accounts and all relevant documents. This is enshrined in law, in Section 25 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

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As the legal notice says, it is only during this period that any local government elector, or their representative, may question the auditor about the accounts, or make an objection to the accounts as set out in sections 26 and 27 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. Any objection, and the grounds on which it is made, must be sent to the auditor in writing at the address below, with a copy to the London Borough of Lewisham. Any objection must state the grounds on which the objection is being made and particulars of:

i) any item of account which is alleged to be contrary to law

and

ii) any matter in respect of which it is proposed that the auditor could make a public interest report under section 24 of, and paragraph 1 of Schedule 7 to, the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

The audit is being carried out by:

Joanne Brown, Grant Thornton UK LLP, 30 Finsbury Square, London, EC2A 1RR

Full details click here: Lewisham Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2023 these documents will be available on application to:

Core Accounting Team, Laurence House, Catford, London, SE6 4RU.

Email: coreaccountingteam@lewisham.gov.uk

The National Audit Office has published a helpful guide. This explains your rights to information and it has further details on how to make formal Objections on page 13.

This is an important democratic right but it is a very short window of opportunity to ask detailed questions on how effectively the local council spends public money on capital projects like the regeneration of Catford, Deptford and Lewisham, on council housing revenue accounts and day to day expenditure on everything from emptying the bins, parks, schools and social care. Governance is an important part of audit too.

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