The Local Audit (Auditor Resignation and Removal) Regulations 2014

Steps to be taken after decision to remove local auditor

7.—(1) Where a relevant authority decides to remove a local auditor from office, it must—

(a) notify the local auditor of the decision; and

(b) within the period of 28 days beginning with the date of the decision publish a statement—

(i) if the relevant authority has a website, on its website;

(ii) otherwise, in accordance with regulation 1(3).

(2) The statement referred to in paragraph (1)(b) must contain—

(a) any response, or a summary of the response, received from the local auditor under regulation 6(2);

(b) the advice, or a summary of the advice, received from the authority’s auditor panel under regulation 6(4); and

(c) if the relevant authority has not followed the advice referred to in sub-paragraph (b), its reasons for not doing so.

(3) A relevant authority must exclude from the statement published under paragraph (1)(b) information whose disclosure would prejudice commercial confidentiality, unless there is an overriding public interest in favour of disclosure.

(4) Where, within the period of 14 days beginning with the date on which the local auditor ceases to hold office—

(a) a relevant authority receives from the auditor a written statement of matters connected with its removal from office, and

(b) the auditor considers the statement needs to be brought to the attention of the relevant authority or the relevant authority’s auditor panel,

the authority must comply with paragraph (5).

(5) The relevant authority must—

(a) give a copy of the statement referred to in paragraph (4) to the authority’s auditor panel and, within the period of 14 days of receiving that statement—

(i) in the case of a major local audit of a relevant authority, to the Secretary of State or, where the Secretary of State has designated a body in an order under section 1252 of the 2006 Act (1), to that body; or

(ii) in any other case, to the supervisory body by which the local auditor is recognised; and

(b) publish the statement—

(i) if the relevant authority has a website, on its website;

(ii) otherwise, in accordance with regulation 1(3).

(1)

Section 1252 of the 2006 Act applies to local audit by virtue of paragraph 1 of Schedule 5 to the 2014 Act and is modified in its application to local audit by paragraphs 2 and 21 of that Schedule.