Watchdog criticises government over new burdens placed on councils
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Version 0 of 1. Whitehall must be open about the financial impact of new responsibilities imposed on struggling local councils or risk council tax increases and further cuts in services, a public spending watchdog has said. The National Audit Office found that the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) may have underestimated the demand for assessments and services for carers while cutting funds by a quarter over the last five years. A report by auditors examined the first phase of the 2014 Care Act, which aims to reduce reliance on formal care and give people more control of their care and support. They identified flaws in central government’s implementation of the “new burdens doctrine”, which says local authorities must be properly assessed and fully funded by the relevant department. Amyas Morse, the head of the NAO, said the department “needs to use intelligence from the new burdens regime to improve its understanding of the pressures affecting authorities’ financial sustainability”. One of the NAO’s key criticisms concerned the “lack of transparency” in the failure to publish identified burdens and any assessments of the most significant ones. There was no reason not to be open about them, it concluded, and argued that keeping them secret undermined relations with councils and created uncertainty. Despite improvements to the process, it also said there was little evidence that impacts were reviewed after new policies came into force. Claire Kober, chair of the Local Government Association’s resources board, said: “In recent years, local government has worked hard to save billions while protecting services for residents and has proved to be effective at implementing new government policies. “As this report rightly recognises, it is wrong for councils to have to reduce spending on vital services, such as caring for the elderly, collecting bins and fixing our roads, to meet the costs brought about by changes to national policy. “Funding for recent new burdens, such as the increase in deprivation of liberty assessments and the new local government transparency code, was not received by councils before they incurred new costs. This has added significant pressure on local services. “The NAO’s helpful recommendations would improve the new burdens process and address the lack of transparency, which has been a source of frustration among local authorities.” A DCLG spokesman said: “The NAO rightly recognises our proportionate approach to minimise administrative burdens on departments while ensuring financial burdens on councils are scrutinised. “The government draws intelligence from a wide range of sources across Whitehall and beyond – including bodies like the LGA, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission as well as local auditors - to fully understand the impact of new burdens on town halls. “Ministers also regularly meet with council leaders, councillors and council officials to discuss local governance issues.” |