The Office for Local Government (Oflog) will be “gently persistent and firm” but will not be a “finger wagging” entity towards spotting councils in trouble, officials have said.
At a Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee meeting yesterday (19 February), Lord Amyas Morse and Josh Goodman, Oflog’s interim chair and chief executive respectively, highlighted the three priorities of the office: to inform citizens, warn of possible council failures and support local government.
When questioned about how Oflog will engage with authorities in “early warning conversations”, Lord Morse explained that there will be “no finger wagging, but on the other hand, it will be gently persistent and firm”.
Public report
Lord Morse stated that if Oflog has dialogue with a council it is likely to result in a written report, which will be published for public viewing. “So, whether that is finger wagging or not, it’s something more than simple gentle persuasion,” he explained.
However, when questioned about how publishing a report is not “naming and shaming” councils, Goodman outlined that the reports are aimed at trying to help councils rather than “trying to catch people out, we’re not trying to score points”.
“I agree that part of our activities, and it’s only part of it, which might come closest to a perception of finger wagging is publishing reports on individual councils.
“It’s then all about the style of doing it in a way that doesn’t come across as finger wagging and certainly not as shaming.
“The goal is to do it in a way that is objective, clear and uncompromising, but supportive. To say, ‘here are the risks that we have seen and here are our recommendations for what you the council do about it’,” Goodman added.
The inquiry takes place as Oflog launched a consultation last week proposing a corporate plan that more clearly defines the role of the organisation.
No legal power
Lord Morse stated that Oflog has no “legal power to compel” local authorities to undertake recommendations in the reports, however if a council does not listen to the body it will turn to “stewardship colleagues” within government.
“We expect them [councils] to commit to a plan of action to deal with it [failures]. If at some point that doesn’t happen, we don’t have the legal power to compel, but what we do have is friends in government, who will be the next port of call if we are not able to be effective,” he said.
Goodman stated that Oflog won’t necessarily identify local authorities that are in danger of financial failure through the Local Authority Data Explorer but will use “soft intelligence” and factors such as staff turnover to spot these councils.
So far, Oflog has not yet identified a council in trouble, with the body currently piloting an early warning conversation with an authority, Goodman confirmed.
‘Not the enemy’
Throughout the committee inquiry, both Lord Morse and Goodman reiterated that Oflog is not an “enemy” to councils and is there to help, with the pair stressing that the entity is “independent from the government”.
“I think it’s really important for us to move forward to be visibly independent. We have been working hard to build our credibility within the sector. We’ve got features like me as a chair, coming from running an independent organisation, and so forth,” Lord Morse said.
In reaction to this, MPs at the committee questioned Lord Morse as to how the body can be “truly independent” if it’s unable to lobby.
“Realistically, when I look at what’s in the letter from the secretary of state [Michael Gove], what he is saying is, ‘agree your plans with us and then you’re free to carry them out over a period of three or four years’. That’s a significant degree of independence.
“You say ‘can we lobby’; what I suspect will happen is over the next few years if we are successful, we will build up our credibility with the sector and therefore with government. Then although we may not be lobbying explicitly as we would do if we were an independent lobby group or something of that sort, I suspect our voice will be heard quite significantly in Whitehall,” Lord Morse responded.
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