Local Government Funding: statement from Chair of Public Accounts Committee
25 June 2014
A statement from The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts:
Local authorities received £36.1 billion of funding via 61 grants from 8 government departments in 2013 to help them provide services in their areas. That local authorities are not required to report on £32.8 billion of this total makes it practically impossible for departments to know exactly what their money is being spent on.
The way government funds local authorities makes for a confusing picture- departments supply some grants to local authorities for specific intentions, yet local authorities have the freedom to use it for any activity they see fit. What is more, without monitoring local authorities’ use of these grants departments cannot tell whether this funding is having the desired impact locally.
As lead department for local government funding, the Department for Communities and Local Government needs to put in place assurance arrangements that are effective and coherent enough to take account of increasing amounts of taxpayers’ money paid to organisations like Local Enterprise Partnerships, which can cover more than one local authority, and which do not readily align with traditional accountability systems.