Author: Ed Hammond
Flooding scrutiny regulations no longer in force
If you like central Government process, and you also like local scrutiny of flood management and flood risk, the last month will have been an exciting month for you. If not, allow me to get you up to speed on something which, while a bit niche, has surprisingly broad implications – the fact that regulations […]
Northamptonshire provides some sobering lessons on budget scrutiny
One of the immediate consequences of central Government intervention in councils – the kind of intervention that is expected imminently in Northamptonshire – is that commentators and journalists begin to crawl over the council, dissecting what went wrong and offering their own insights. These sorts of “noises off” are often precisely what the council involved […]
Select committee inquiry on overview and scrutiny – the Government’s response
Last week, the Government produced its response to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee’s inquiry on overview and scrutiny in local government. The full response can be found here – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-overview-and-scrutiny-government-response-to-select-committee-report This blog post focuses on those areas where Government has responded – the report itself covers some other issues, which we will be looking […]
Change at the Council: Kensington and Chelsea governance review published
A report looking at scrutiny and governance at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, commissioned by the council in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.
The how and why of government interventions in councils
Ed Hammond, CfGS Director of Research, reflects on the powers central government has to intervene in local authorities and risks that the approach can bring. Here we are again – another Government intervention. Although firm action has yet to be taken to deal with the dire situation that Northamptonshire have found themselves in, the likelihood […]
Local Public Accounts Committees
Why is it needed? What will it deliver? How will it work? The Centre for Governance and Scrutiny believes that current accountability arrangements are not strong enough for the increasingly complex landscape that characterises public service delivery in many localities. CfGS believes that local Public Accounts Committees (PACs) should be created which would help secure […]
Combined authority scrutiny (a little over) six months on
It’s now been around eight months since the elections for metro Mayors took place. We at the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny naturally have an interest in how Mayors and Combined Authorities are held to account. CAs all have overview and scrutiny committees. We wanted, as the end of the year approached, to think about […]
What are the sanctions when you cannot get hold of information – or when you can’t get someone to attend a meeting
Increasingly, I am asked by exasperated councillors what the sanctions are when they are met with obstructions as they carry out their work. This can be senior officers dragging their feet when asked to provide information, Cabinet Members or senior officers not turning up to meetings having been requested to do so, Cabinet failing to […]
CfGS welcomes calls for enhanced powers and esteem for scrutiny in local government
Today, the CLG Select Committee has published its report into scrutiny in local government. CfGS welcomes the findings of this inquiry – the Committee has recognised the cultural and structural challenges which put barriers in the way of making member-led accountability effective, distinctive and proportionate. This brief post outlines our response to some of the […]
Big data and accountability
Before I went off on paternity leave I saw an interesting blog about how New Orleans is using “big data” to improve performance and accountability. A few years ago, big data was the big thing in public services – the idea that professionals gathering information from a wide range of sources to give them as […]