I seen this reply to a parliamentary query that was revealed yesterday:

The Entire of Authorities Accounts matter. They’re the one publication by the federal government that does, for instance, present a real and truthful view of the federal government’s debt by utilizing accounting conventions that overturn the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics’ false view on this subject.

These accounts additionally give a correct illustration of presidency revenue and spending, albeit that the capital upkeep idea used of their preparation and their implicit assumption that the federal government is only a big company are each questionable.

That mentioned, the failure of the federal government to provide these accounts on a well timed foundation issues. What’s extra, if the feeble excuse utilized by John Glen as to their non-production had been utilized by any industrial enterprise to justify a delay in presenting accounts to HMRC or Corporations Home then it will have been dismissed as irrelevant and no justification for non-submission and important penalties would have been imposed.

It isn’t simply the poor accounting by the federal government that issues on this case, though it’s reprehensible that they care so little about assembly stakeholder want; additionally it is the contempt for many who endure the customarily unfair and even unjust penalties imposed on them for motive of real and unavoidable delay in submitting accounts, tax returns and VAT returns that additionally issues. They can not apply one commonplace to their very own conduct and apply one other to everybody else.

We want the Entire of Authorities Accounts. If multinational firms are required to file their accounts inside seven months of their year-end then so ought to the federal government be required to take action, and there’s no excuse for that to not occur.

I thank Caroline Lucas for asking the query.