By Jason Holland, reporting from the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Annual Conference and Exhibition in Bournemouth
In officially launching the Office for Local Government (Oflog) during a plenary session of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Annual Conference and Exhibition, Michael Gove offered lofty ambitions for the new performance body in England. Oflog will “champion, celebrate and spread” best practice in local government, he said.
Oflog’s role is to support local authorities, the secretary of state for Levelling up, Housing and Communities outlined, as he launched a recruitment campaign for its first chief executive. The body will aim to show wider appreciation of the important work done every day by local councils, he told delegates in Bournemouth, which often involves “ingenuity” and “excellence”.
Oflog will also provide authoritative and accessible data and analysis about the performance of local government.
Perhaps just as importantly, Gove promised consultation with local authorities to identify the best indicators of performance and in generating value for money.
And, crucially, one key focus of the new organisation will be on detecting potential financial problems in local government much earlier than they currently are. “We need to be able to better respond to early warning signs,” Gove said. “The problems [at financially troubled councils] didn’t happen all at once.”
Where intervention is needed, the government must also have the ability to take “targeted action” based on the individual situation of the council in trouble, he added.
Gove did note that the extreme financial difficulties in local councils existed in a “small minority of cases” in a sector that is generally “characterised by excellence”. Its reputation was perhaps suffering unfairly, he suggested, from the fallout of cases such as Woking, Croydon, Thurrock, Slough and Liverpool.
In another major announcement in Bournemouth, Gove also promised to reform the external auditing system, where a startling backlog of unaudited accounts in England currently represents a severe crisis. “Concrete action” will be taken, he said, with Lee Rowley, parliamentary under secretary of state, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, taking the lead. As reported extensively by Room151, a parliamentary select committee is currently holding an inquiry into financial reporting and audit in local authorities, in which section 151 officers have been among those giving evidence.
The secretary of state also told LGA conference delegates that there was more to be done to reform the funding system for local government. He cited the need for a rational allocating system, fewer ringfences, more rewards for successful authorities, and clear incentives. “[We will] make funding simpler, more rational and predictable,” he said.
15th Annual LATIF & FDs’ Summit – 19 September 2023
250+ Delegates from Local Government & Investment
Gove promised a process of engagement and consultation in the weeks and months ahead to develop a better funding system, adding that “where we can take action quickly, we will”. He said a “new approach” to the next round of the levelling up fund would also be taken.
Elsewhere in Gove’s speech, he said that more tools would be given to councils to support devolution; something he said both he personally and the current government supported. “We want to be with you every step of the way,” he pledged to those on the devolution path.
Gove also showed his “huge appreciation” for the work local councils do in adult social care, among other services. Offering a lighter tone to an otherwise serious speech, he joked that he thought the film ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ was a “fly on the wall documentary about local government”.
“Strengthening your hand is my mission,” Gove told local councils as he signed off. It remains to be seen how much stronger authorities’ hands will become – and how much of an impact Oflog and possible reforms will have.
Labour offers a plan for change and a “sense of purpose”
Delegates at the LGA Annual Conference and Exhibition also heard from Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour Party.
She promised a “new way of governing” should Labour be elected at the next general election. Public finance is in a “bad place”, she said, and the party would “inherit the consequences” of that if elected.
Her mantra was that decisions should be taken by local people, and she promised a bill in the first King’s speech of the next Labour government to enhance local authority powers.
“This country has to roll its sleeves up and start building things,” she added – which includes housing. “We’ll tackle the housing crisis head-on,” Raynor promised.
Asked about providing financial stability for local councils, Raynor said that this was much needed, and cited an array of measures that could give such assurance. These include Labour’s proposed green prosperity plan and devolution.
Ultimately, Raynor said Labour was committed to change and prepared to “tear down barriers to opportunity”. We will know soon enough if it will get the chance to do so.
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