Gove to ‘Stop the Rot’ in Local Government Audit and Standards reporting.

 The legitimising of dodgy reports from Councillors and Officers under pressure must stop.

It has been released that the Government is to investigate Audit and Standards reporting in Local Government with a ‘deep dive’ into local authority financial and standards reporting has been officially launched.

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee who report on departmental issues under the umbrella of Michael Gove's ministry has launched an inquiry into financial reporting in audit and standards in local authorities in a proactive move to protect democracy and retain trust in Local Government.

The Government over the last decade has slashed 60p in every pound from revenue support grants to Local Government and the Local Government Association have reported that 128 Councils will lose revenue support completely for the 2024/25 financial year.

It's been reported the committee's chair, Clive Betts, former Labour leader of Sheffield City Council and MP for  Sheffield South-East from 1992-2010 said: "Councils across England face a series of cost and service pressures. Many local authorities are struggling financially with some councils in recent months even warning that they could be forced to declare effective bankruptcy within the coming year. When council finances are under greater pressure than ever before, the need for effective financial accountability for local government is put into even sharper focus."

 A number of councils including Northumberland have ‘lost’ their Government appointed auditors in recent years due to differences between external auditors and the needs of elected members to have reports legitimised through audit and standards committees. 

A widening gap between internal and external auditors, the lack of information given to elected members who scrutinise process in councils and the limited release of targets set to deliver best value on behalf of the public and Government across all services and the effective use of standards reporting to ‘smarten up’ Councillors who deliberately flaunt good practice will be investigated.

Let's hope rapid progress is made.