The Local Audit (Auditor Panel Independence) Regulations 2014

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision about auditor panels established under Part 3 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (“the Act”). Auditor panels give advice on the selection and appointment of an auditor to audit the accounts of relevant authorities (as to which, see section 2 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Act). Schedule 4 to the Act makes provision about auditor panels and paragraph 2 (which relates to relevant authorities which are not health service bodies within the meaning in section 3(9) of the Act) contains provision about members of auditor panels. Panels must consist of a majority of independent members; individuals who have been a member or officer of a relevant authority within 5 years of the time in question cannot be independent members of the audit panel that advises that authority.

These Regulations amend the definition, in paragraph 2 of Schedule 4 to the Act, of who is independent at any given time, by substituting sub-paragraph (2) and making modifications to that sub-paragraph as it applies to police and crime commissioners, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, other functional bodies of the Greater London Authority (“GLA”) and the GLA. Persons with relevant interests in the relevant authority as provided for by sub-paragraph (2)(f) (providing goods or services to the authority) or sub-paragraph (2)(g) and (h) (being, or being employed by, a current or prospective auditor of the authority) cannot be independent auditor panel members.

An impact assessment of the effect that the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, which this instrument helps implement, will have on the costs of business is available from http://www.parliament.uk/ documents/impact-assessments/IA13-11A.pdf. No separate assessment was carried out for this instrument.