Government spending faces audit
Government spending faces top-to-bottomaudit prior to finalising new Budget details
Government spending faces an audit after the new coalition warned that Labour
had led a “scorched earth” policy on spending in its last year in power.
The Office for Budget Responsibility, headed by Sir Alan Budd, will launch an
audit of government spending to understand the full extent of the public sector
spending deficit.
The National Audit
Office is usually responsible for auditing central government
departments.
Ministers criticised pushing through of spending prior to the end of the
previous government, including a £13bn oil tanker project and £420m of school
building contracts.
Business secretary Vince Cable warned of finding “skeletons” in cupboards.
“I fear that a lot of bad news about the public finances has been hidden and
stored up for the new government,” said Cable in
The
Times.
Further reading:
AATV:
Top tax advisers discuss Con-Lib plans
Accountants
storm the Treasury