Category: News
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 […]
Watch our recorded webinar: Finance Scrutiny
We have recently recorded our ‘Finance Scrutiny’ webinar for you to watch below. We will also be uploading further webinars for member and officers in the coming weeks. Take a look at our YouTube channel here for the content we have recorded so far. If you have any questions about the content, or if you […]
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, […]
Council Logos, Part Two
In part one I kicked off with a brief introduction to the world of council logos, this part sets out what I’ve learnt. Council logos – the insights. My methodical process initially entailed scrutinising the contents of each logo, in order to identify the presence of various design components in hope of producing a typology. […]
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 […]
Reviewing governance, reviewing the constitution
A lot of councils fairly regularly conduct reviews of their constitution. Your council may be one of them. You might do them in-house (your Monitoring Officer or Head of Governance may lead) or you may bring in an external provider – a law firm for example. Getting qualified legal support on something like this is […]
Democracy and governance model reviews: supporting council’s review of democratic ways of working
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many councils were engaged in serious conversations about how they needed to rethink local democracy and local governance. For some, this has been about re-engaging with their local population. For others, it has been about being clearer on the role of councillors, when some feels that executive arrangements concentrate […]
Race, England and local government
It’s impossible to look across the Atlantic and experience anything but horror at the unfolding protests – and the police violence accompanying them. Seeing footage of running battles, the deployment of tear gas and rubber bullets, it’s quite easy to breathe a sigh of relief and assume that the deep-set racial divide and huge structural […]