Local audit contracts worth £25.2m a year are to be retendered in a bid to boost savings, the Audit Commission has announced.

Amounting to around 30% of total local audit work carried out in England, contracts established with audit firms in 2006 and 2007 are to be terminated and retendered with new arrangements coming into effect from the audit of the accounts for 2015/16.

Following the outsourcing of the remainder of the market in 2012, local public bodies are expected to save £250m over the next five years. The Audit Commission has reduced statutory audit fees by up to 40% following the move.