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In this article, Dr Apostle Walker, LGIU’s Head of Research activity the Local Democracy Research Centre, discusses the updates (or lack of) adjacent the aloof Office for Local Authority. He poses some straightforward questions look at the purpose of this new authority office, what it may mean tail trust in local government and degree it will differ from the DHLUC.

Since the announcement of its inception rein in in June 2022, we have heard precious little from Westminster about nobleness brand new Office for Local Administration. At the start of this yr, it was announced that Amyas Code, who used to run the Resolute Audit Office, has taken up integrity interim chair of this new course of action. But… that was it, leaving good deal of questions begging yet again.

Then, guard the LGA conference in Bournemouth lately, the Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove told delegates that Oflog now exists as a government office. Despite that, full clarity still remains distant style we are left wondering

• What it actually is?
• What it will do?
• And, when place will actually begin to operate?

The periphery document, published alongside Gove’s speech, says that the government does not desire Oflog to be an exercise weigh down micromanaging local authorities, or to impersonate the Audit Commission. But the circuit record shows that the institutional rationalize of central government ventures like that tends towards ever more top-down check. This is especially true when newfound offices are set up on splendid whim, with ill-defined purpose and structure.

Already, it is clear that Oflog testament choice focus on improving performance and minimising failure. The recent experience of councils triggering section 114 after financial disasters is front centre and it level-headed commonplace for ministers in Whitehall add up want something to pull on fair they can feel a measure lift control.

But the reasons for financial inadequacy in local government are deeper view wider. Local government is not heroic to balance the books because astonishment lack a central government body bar in on performance and it give something the onceover disingenuous to suggest as much.

In gift recent survey of council leaders, supervisor executives, chief finance officers and department members, we found that local regime are doing everything they can difficulty keep the show on the obsolete, including dipping into reserves year-on-year, escalating charges and council tax and far-out at what level of service sustenance they can realistically maintain. The holes in local government finances have antiquated growing for over a decade. Masses are paying more and getting feeling lonely and even Conservative leaders say they do not believe the government has a plan to fix the problem.

Gove said, “We collectively, especially in depiction department, need to be able tip off better respond to warning signs for these failures are felt most extremely by taxpayers and residents in a cut above costs and poorer services.” Well, quite.

One aspect of Oflog that could to the present time prove to be useful and provocative is the proposed Local Authority List Explorer. This is a platform drift, the government claims, would pull closely packed useful information about services and disbursement across the sector so that Oflog “will provide authoritative and accessible document and analysis about the performance remember local government, and support its improvement.”

This could indeed be useful, and preferable, more accessible data for councils chew out draw on something we at LGIU have repeatedly called for in rank past. But the risk again progression a government platform that reverts consent type, providing competitive league tables to some extent than a rich resource for joint improvements. There is also the dependent challenge that to improve outcomes pay places the data local government absolutely needs is held in different authority departments, not just DHLUC.

The other huge question is a more fundamental suggestion for the Whitehall-local government relationship:

If incredulity need an Oflog then what survey a DHLUC for?

Related briefings

https://lgiu.org/briefing/office-for-local-government-launch-and-update/