Funding
Between 1983 and 1998 the Commission was self-funding, operating purely on income from audit fees. In 1998 the central government began providing grants to the Commission due to its new responsibilities under "Best Value" legislation, and for the cost of setting up the Best Value and Housing Inspectorates.
In 2009-10 the Commission had operating income of £213.1m. 86% of this came from fees charged to bodies audited; just 13% (£28.0m) came from central government grants. Around 70% of the Commission's income in 2009-10 came from the local government sector, with the remainder coming from the health sector. Before the Coalition government announced further cuts, the Commission had planned to cut spending by £32.1m by March 2013. Thirty percent of the Commission's audits were carried out by five private audit firms.
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