Government announces Oflog review, pauses early warning conversations pilot
The Government will review the role of the Office for Local Government (Oflog) by the end of 2024 to "ensure that it will add the greatest possible value to the system of transparency, accountability and support of local government".
In a letter to Oflog's chief executive, Josh Goodman, the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon, also announced that the body's 'early warning conversations programme' will be paused.
Oflog was established in July 2023 by the previous Secretary of State, Michael Gove, who said the office would provide targeted data and analysis to improve accountability and transparency in local government and identify where councils need targeted support.
In January 2024, the Conservative Government announced plans for the office to publish reports on councils as part of an 'early warning system' and conduct 'early warning conversations' with some local authorities identified as potentially at-risk.
The previous Government had suggested that the early warning conversations programme could be implemented as early as next year, in comments made after its first pilot in June 2024.
However, in his letter sent on Tuesday (10 September), McMahon said Oflog had agreed to pause the piloting and rolling out of its current model of 'early warning conversations', "while we consider the government's overall approach to early warning and interventions".
McMahon went on to clarify the body's short-term remit, noting that Oflog plans to expand its data service to continue to add new metrics to its Data Explorer "with a focus on areas most relevant to the government's missions".
He also said the body should continue to improve the Data Explorer to ensure it better explains the data's limitations and how it should be used responsibly by third parties.
In addition, Oflog should develop options for new, additional, or alternative data tools to help citizens understand local authorities' performance, "being clear about how these would add value to existing tools and reporting provided by central government and the sector," he said.
To fulfil its 'support' function, McMahon said Oflog will continue its work to understand the current landscape of support available to local authorities and, where there are gaps, will inform discussions with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) officials about how these gaps might be best filled.
Oflog will also continue its programme of webinars that convene groups of similar local authorities to learn from each other.
The minister also encouraged Oflog to publish new analysis for councils, research or tools on local authority performance and best practice.
The sector has been debating what Oflog should be used for since its introduction under the previous Government in July 2023, with some calling for the body to be involved in local government audit.
Adam Carey
