Jason Holland

2 weeks ago | room151.co.uk | Jason Holland

Reforms to accounting code will ‘support recovery’ of local auditCIPFA has pledged “meaningful reforms” to the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting and the process by which it is set, while transitioning to a free-to-access funding model. Director of public financial management at CIPFA Iain Murray said this would be required “to support the recovery of the local audit system, and to enable clearer, more proportionate reporting by local authorities”.

2 weeks ago | room151.co.uk | Jason Holland

The government has set out 16 commitments to fix the “fragmented and broken” local audit system – with up to £49m in funding to support local authorities in clearing the backlog. The commitments (listed below) include simplifying financial reporting requirements and increasing capacity to avoid reliance on a small number of auditors.

2 weeks ago | room151.co.uk | Jason Holland

The question of what local government is fundamentally for must be answered in light of the “relentless” financial pressures facing the sector and the lack of a realistic – or any – funding increase to meet them. Local government finance experts made that point to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee this morning (8 April), stating that only national policy measures could bring to an end a situation where service demand and costs continue to outrun available funding.

3 weeks ago | room151.co.uk | Jason Holland

London boroughs seek powers and funding model akin to Manchester’sLondon’s boroughs have called for joint decision-making arrangements over powers and funding in devolution plans, in a model similar to combined authority areas such as Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. The leaders of the 32 London boroughs have made a united cross-party call for “a seat at the table” as part of a new devolution settlement for the capital.

3 weeks ago | room151.co.uk | Jason Holland

Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) is “bad government”; local government reorganisation will be a “distraction”; and the upcoming Spending Review offers no grounds for optimism. Those were some of the opinions offered by Professor Tony Travers, professor in practice and Associate Dean at the LSE School of Public Policy during a Public Accounts Committee inquiry on local government financial sustainability today (3 April).