Author: Ed Hammond
Statutory instruments, the Covid Act and the importance of pre-decision scrutiny
Recent events in Parliament have provided us with a stark reminder of the absolute importance of scrutiny on the national stage – and act as a useful rejoinder to those who claim that the function has little practical impact. The Coronavirus Act gives Government sweeping powers to make Regulations on matters relating to the pandemic. […]
Local government living with the pandemic and looking ahead
We are in the eye of this storm – there is no telling how or when it might recede. For the optimists, the New Year is when we can begin “going back to normal”. For the pessimists, a date well into next summer feels more likely. But what if we don’t – or shouldn’t – […]
Tim Gilling leaving CfGS
As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the law which brought in scrutiny, CfGS is saying farewell to its longest serving team member, Tim Gilling. Tim joined CfGS in 2004, soon after it was set up. His prior experience involved working in unitary, county and district councils across Yorkshire and the north east. CfGS was […]
Revisiting the four principles of good scrutiny
One of the first things that the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny did when it was established in 2003 was to try to articulate some fundamental principles of good scrutiny. We set out four things that we thought were essential to make scrutiny effective. These have stood the test of time and, with some minor […]
Thinking about unitarisation and reorganisation
Since the late spring there have been increased rumblings that the expected Devolution White Paper will bring with it plans for structural reorganisation in English local government. Over the past thirty years or so there have been sporadic moves to reorganise local government in different parts of the country – mainly through creating unitary councils […]
Building the budget through scrutiny
Throughout the past ten years we and others in the sector have spoken extensively about the pressing financial challenges facing local authorities. These have ebbed and flowed – facing councils and councillors in different ways. But as we approach 2021/22, the crisis has both deepened and broadened. The pandemic has highlighted the risks around financial […]
Learning lessons from the crisis
We are, to be honest, not great as a country when it comes to learning lessons after terrible things happen. Nationally, the model we have adopted appears to the one designed to be uniquely irritating to the victims of disasters or crises – to appoint a retired judge to conduct a public inquiry, assisted by […]
Thoughts on the PAC report on council commercial activity
The Public Accounts Committee’s report on council commercial activity makes for uncomfortable reading – for Government as well as for councils. The Committee is excoriating in its criticism of MHCLG. It thinks that Government should have a much better handling on the oversight of the prudential framework, and of local authorities’ exposure to risk. It […]
Working with CIPFA to transform scrutiny of local finances
We have today (25 June 2020) published a comprehensive practice guide on financial scrutiny, with our colleagues at CIPFA. You can read a piece in the LGC by CIPFA’s Diana Melville (paywall) on the importance of effective scrutiny of council finances. Even before the pandemic hit, local government finances were in a fragile state. Now, […]
Where do we go from here? Reflecting and learning from this experience
Whilst we still face many months of uncertainty and many institutions continue to be focused on the operational response to the pandemic, there is a responsibility to consider what the world will look and feel like after the COVID-19 crisis has receded. We can agree that, when we do finally emerge, things won’t be the […]