Merge council inspectorates into one super-regulator, says LGA
The Local Government Association has launched a consultation to ask whether the number of organisations that inspect and regulate local authorities should be merged into a single entity in an effort to better co-ordinate the oversight of local authorities.
The document, Freedom to Lead, will canvass council leaders to ascertain whether merging some of the existing regulators would significantly contribute to cost savings without compromising the quality of council services. It will also seek councils' views on the extent to which local authorities should be given greater autonomy over which services they provide and how they provide them.
The LGA says that the successful adoption of the Total Place agenda, which is supported by all three of the main political parties, requires a more co-ordinated approach to inspection and regulation.
Questions on which council leaders' views are being sought include whether there should be:
- devolved autonomy to shape the total amount of local public spending in any one place
- a slimline set of national indicators relevant to each locality
- three-year area financial settlements for the whole public sector
- new-style area agreements negotiated with local people, rather than central government
- a national inspectorate for local public service delivery
- a single improvement framework for local public services.
Councillor David Parsons, chairman of the LGA's Improvement Board, said: “We need much less central control if we are to deliver better services and lead our local areas. At the same time, increasing local accountability will strengthen democracy and save public money.
“We want to build a consensus around the need for change, plus the broad agenda we have put forward. We want to hear from councils, their local partners and others on our propositions. We also want to hear from the main political parties as to how these ideas fit in with their plans.”
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