Gareth Davies, the Comptroller and Auditor General of the National Audit Office, has reported on the 2020-21 accounts of the Department of Health and Social Care (the Department), including his qualifications of his audit opinions.
He has qualified his opinion because of insufficient evidence to support the year-end inventory and accruals balances. He has qualified his regularity opinion because £1.3 billion of the Department’s COVID-19 spending was spent either without the necessary HM Treasury approvals or in breach of conditions set by HM Treasury. He has also qualified his regularity opinion due to insufficient evidence to show that the Department’s spending, particularly on COVID-19 procurement, was not subject to a material level of fraud.
