Almost 100 councils failed to publish any statement of accounts in 2022/23 by the September deadline, according to research by the TaxPayers' Alliance. Only one in ten published audited accounts by this point.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, which published the findings, our head of campaigns Elliot Keck said:
"The failure to file accounts is causing a transparency crisis in local government.
"It's unacceptable that struggling Brits have to stump up for growing council tax bills when their town hall bosses either won't or can't show them what they're spending their money on.
"Local government chiefs should treat taxpayers with greater respect and file accounts on time."