Ministers have rejected proposals to require councils to publish a summary of resources allocated to their scrutiny processes. Responding to recommendations by a select committee, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Many councils do not have dedicated scrutiny support staff — officers work on issues and engage with committees as part of the flow of business — so this would make quantifying the support that scrutiny committees receive very difficult. In the government’s view, the quality of the support is the more important issue. The government firmly believes that each individual authority is best-placed to decide for itself how to support scrutiny most effectively.”
Reports
Most read in
- IFRS 9 override extended to 2029 for existing investments(47 views)
- After EFS: Worcestershire s151 Phil Rook on the uncertain road to financial resilience(33 views)
- Richard Harbord: section 114 was never meant for today’s crisis(31 views)
- Yes Minister: Treasury ‘confident’ LGPS pool’s FCA authorisations can be achieved by March 2026(23 views)
- New: LGPS regional investment special report(21 views)
- Westminster borrows £235m over 42 years to acquire temporary accommodation – an ‘innovative’ solution or should government do more?(19 views)
- The rise of the senior LGPS officer: how will the new role impact funds?(17 views)
- ‘Golden opportunity to turn ship around’ must not be squandered in Spending Review, say London boroughs(17 views)
- Room151 LGPS podcast: investing in venture capital climate solutions(16 views)
- The government’s push to merge pools lacks transparency(15 views)
More from
Scaling up efficiencies could be key to successful AI adoption in local government
The adoption of artificial intelligence in local government could be just as much about maximising available resources – essentially doing more with less – as it is about making immediate financial savings or efficiencies.
(Shutterstock)