most recently £203m in 2012-13. Closure On 13 August 2010, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, announced that the commission was to be scrapped, with its functions being transferred to the voluntary, not-for-profit or private sector. The government aimed to save £50m annually, with the commission's function transferred to the Local Government Ombudsman and private accounting firms. Accounting body ACCA expressed doubt that the private sector would match the commission's experience and consistency. The Financial Reporting Council suggested to a House of Lords committee that government should not sell the Audit Commission's practice to any of the Big Four auditors, otherwise their dominance of the audit market would be further enhanced. In 2012 a proposed employee-owned firm won only one of ten regional contracts and was launched as a subsidiary of Mazars. Grant Thornton won the largest share, four contracts, and took on about 350 staff from the commission. KPMG and Ernst & Young won three and two contracts respectively. The Commission estimated that audit fee savings at 'up to 40%' will arise as a result of these arrangements. A small number of staff were retained at the Audit Commission to monitor these contracts until the commission was abolished. Provision to abolish the commission was included in the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, and the commission was formally closed on 31 March 2015. Function Functions of the Audit Commission included: Audit: Auditors appointed by the Audit Commission were responsible for auditing local government in England, National Health Service trusts and other local agencies in England, covering local government, health, housing, fire and rescue and community safety. Research: The Audit Commission published studies that analysed and commented upon wide-ranging social and financial issues in the UK. Data-matching: The National Fraud Initiative compared data from a wide range of sources (including data from UKBA, Local Government, Central Government Departments and the NHS) to help participating organisations discover cases of fraud, overpayment and error. The Audit Commission worked in partnership with – but operated independently of – a number of government departments including the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Home Office, and the Department of Health. Previously the commission also produced performance assessments for councils, fire and rescue services, and housing organisations. In July 2009, it launched the Comprehensive Area Assessment, which assessed the effectiveness of local public services. Funding Between 1983 and 1998 the