We’re here to Assure, Explain and Inspire.
The Auditor General is the statutory external auditor of most of the Welsh public sector.
Our key strength is our wide range of skills and knowledge that has arisen from our position as the the statutory external auditor
See our current and previous consultations
This section sets out how you may request information from us and provides some direct links to information of wider public interest.
Governance and oversight at Audit Wales
Our accounts are audited by an independent firm appointed by the Welsh Parliament.
Our Executive Leadership Team is responsible for directing the organisation
The Auditor General is responsible for auditing most of the public money spent in Wales.
See our work around the COVID-19 pandemic
Audit Services has a reach of over 800 public bodies across Wales covering financial and performance audit
Our programme of shared learning events focusses on topics that are common across public services
Having a strategic, dynamic and high quality audit programme is a key focus of our strategy
The NFI matches data across organisations and systems to help public bodies identify fraud and overpayments.
We work with others from across the Welsh public sector and beyond
See our latest news, blogs, events and more
Find out the latest news
See our blogs on many different topics
Access our data tools and useful data sources
View our videos on our YouTube channel
Our events bring together individuals from across the Welsh public sector
Access all the resources from our shared learning events
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We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact:
info@audit.wales
Town centres are at the heart of Welsh life
Wales is a country of small interdependent towns, villages, and communities. There are 193 places in Wales with over 2,000 residences.
Town centres can be vibrant and sustainable places but addressing the many challenges they face requires brave decisions and ambitious leadership.
Past policy choices, changing consumer expectations and technological advances are now adversely affecting many Welsh town centres. Fewer and fewer ‘essential services,’ such as post offices and banks, remain in town centres and 1 in every 7 shops on high streets in Wales is empty.
Also, non-domestic rates continue to make most town centres unattractive places to invest.
High streets are more than just retail, but this is often overlooked.
Since 2014, the Welsh Government has invested just under £900 million to help regenerate town centres.
Businesses have been well supported during the pandemic too, but local authorities often lack the skills, capacity and resources to help create sustainable town centres, despite significant Welsh Government funding, even though they are key in managing and regenerating town centres.
Welsh Government has prioritised regeneration of town centres in the recovery from the pandemic, but needs to ensure the town centre first approach is central to its wider policy agenda.
Brave decisions are needed.