§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr. Christopher Leslie)The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister consulted last year on proposals to amend and consolidate the Accounts and Audit Regulations, which set out the duties of local authorities on the keeping of accounts. The three-month consultation period provided for in our consultation came to an end in December. Having carefully considered representations made, I have today laid the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003 (SI 2003 No. 533), to implement the changes. The aims of the amendments are to update the rules governing the way local authorities keep accounts, to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy so the accounting burden is proportionate to the size of the authority, and to make improvements to provisions relating to local authority corporate governance and accountability. Various changes have been made to the original proposals to reflect the concerns of consultees. The regulations will come into effect on 1 April 2003. Guidance will be issued to assist authorities in implementing the regulations.