A total of £1.4 billion in unpaid fines and penalties could be lost and the courts service has failed to provide even basic accounting records, Whitehall's spending watchdog has said.
The National Audit Office (NAO) refused to sign off the accounts of the courts service, saying it was unable to provide proper accounting records for the fines, confiscation orders and penalties it is responsible for collecting.
It is the first time since 2004/5, when the accounts of the Home Office were challenged, that the watchdog has publicly criticised a central government body in Westminster for failing to provide proper accounts.
A total of £1.9 billion was owed to the courts in fines, confiscation orders and penalties by the end of March, but only £457 million of this was deemed to be likely to be received, the NAO report said. The remaining £1.4 billion could be lost and was management's "estimate of debt that is at risk", but this was not properly documented, it said.
The NAO report added that the computer systems used by magistrates' courts were not able to provide information at an individual transaction level to support the accounts, making it impossible for the watchdog to examine them.
Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: "Because of limitations in the underlying systems, HM Courts Service has not been able to provide me with proper accounting records relating to the collection of fines, confiscation orders and penalties."
In his report to the Commons, he went on: "I have not been able to reach an opinion on whether the HMCTS (HM Courts and Tribunals Service) shows a true and fair view of the revenues, expenditure and financial position disclosed in the financial statements."
No accounting ledgers were maintained which link directly to the transactions underlying the trust statement, he said.
"I have, therefore, been unable to consider whether the transactions and balances in the account are complete, proper to this account or have been appropriately raised in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions."
It is the first time that the service has been required to provide a trust statement detailing the revenues from fines and penalties.