What now for deprivations of liberty?
What will the effect of the postponement of the Liberty Protections Safeguards be on local authorities? Local Government Lawyer asked 50 adult social care lawyers for their views on the potential consequences.
SPOTLIGHT |
The Audit Commission is to be disbanded with its auditing functions handed to the private sector and councils given the freedom to appoint their own independent external auditors, the Department for Communities and Local Government has announced.
Under the proposals:
The necessary legislation will be sought in this Parliamentary session, with a view to the new regime being in place by 2012/13.
The DCLG said ministers had been concerned that the Commission’s work had become less focused on accountability to citizens and more on reporting upwards to government.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: “The corporate centre of the Audit Commission has lost its way. Rather than being a watchdog that champions taxpayers’ interests, it has become a creature of the Whitehall state.
“We need to redress this balance. Audit should remain to ensure taxpayers’ money is properly spent, but this can be done in a competitive environment, drawing on professional audit expertise across the country.”
He added that scrapping the Audit Commission would save the taxpayer £50m a year.
Michael O'Higgins, the Commission's chairman, said it regretted the decision but acknowledged the absolute right of the Communities Secretary to change the arrangements surrounding the architecture of government.
He insisted that it could reflect upon “the very significant successes” it had achieved during its existence. Among the successes he highlighted:
O’Higgins also argued that the Commission had played its part in assisting in the “very significant” impact of local authority improvement in the last decade. He pointed to the Decentralisation Minister Greg Clark’s comments comparing local government’s improved performance compared to central government.
The Commission’s chairman said he had taken soundings of potential purchasers of its audit practice, which had revealed significant interest in acquiring the business.