Local audit reforms don’t go far enough in preventing private sector chaos
Posted inUncategorized

Local audit reforms don’t go far enough in preventing private sector chaos

The government risks missing a key opportunity to fix the local audit crisis, leaving the whole country in the dark about council finances.The government has unveiled the plans to fix the local audit crisis with a new body, the Local Audit Office (LAO). Action can’t come soon enough. Last year only 4% of local councils submitted audited accounts on time for 2023/24, even lower than the 10% last year that prompted the National Audit office to take the unprecedented step to disclaim the Whole Government Accounts, essentially a refusal to sign off the accounts as correct. This year, that step... [continues]
orange protest sign that says "the power of the people is stronger than the people in power"
Posted inCurrent Democratising Governance Events

Cities in Action: Democratising Local Governance launch 27 April

Thursday 27 April  7-8.30pm Join us on Thursday for the launch of the findings from our project Democratising Local Governance!  Register now on Eventbrite.  Legislative changes in the last decade have increased the power of central government over local authorities. Democratic controls (transparency, participation, accountability and so on) have been continuously eroded. Under a culture of cuts and lack of care, cities have become an important site for residents and communities to provide for one another and drive forward the changes they want to see. But, the deep democratic deficits we are facing, and the continuing capture of the local... [continues]
Summer newsletter: new staff member & project updates 
Posted inCurrent Newsletters

Summer newsletter: new staff member & project updates 

  Dear friends and followers of Research for Action,  We hope you have been enjoying the summer this far and have been able to take some relaxing time off. Research for Action has grown by a staff member since you last heard from us. Gloria started working with us at the end of June as our brand new Advocacy and Communications Coordinator and we are very very excited to have her on board!  Gloria says:  Hi, I’m joining Research for Action to work on local audit reform. I’ve had a lot of experience in political organising, activist research and diverse... [continues]
February newsletter – new director, new project, new connections!
Posted inNewsletters

February newsletter – new director, new project, new connections!

Dear friends and followers,It has been a busy start of the year, focusing on organisational development as well as our new project, coordinating a network of citizen auditors. More on our work below. On the organisational side we have some exciting news as in January, we welcomed a new director to Research for Action: Tim Joubert. Tim is doing a PhD at the University of Leeds on radical municipalism in the Greater London Council of the 1980s, and his interests are in social movements, urban contestation and radical history among others. He teaches urban geography at Leeds Beckett University and... [continues]
Citizen auditor network starting in 2022
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Citizen auditor network starting in 2022

In Spring 2022, we will start to coordinate a network of citizen auditors. The Local Audit and Accountability Act enables the public to inspect council accounts and residents to question the auditor as well as object to spending they believe is not in the public interest. We have made extensive use of these accountability rights in our work. However, we are far from the only ones using these rights - there are many more citizen auditors across the country scrutinising their councils’ spending.  Whether concerned residents or local journalists, we know that people using the public accountability rights often work... [continues]
GUEST BLOG: Building local power – reflections on municipalism
Posted inCurrent Guest blog

GUEST BLOG: Building local power – reflections on municipalism

By Steve Rushton In May 2021, Research for Action, Municipal Enquiry and Cities for Change organised an online event called “Building local solidarity and horizontal power”. I collaborated on this project as the local forums facilitator for the UK and Nordic countries for Cities for Change, a decentralised forum initiated and organised by Amsterdam City Council that aimed to strengthen and network municipalism across the continent. Together with Research for Action and Municipal Enquiry, we recognised that local government has been decimated by successive legislative changes and austerity, as Research for Action's work has documented. It often feels politics provides... [continues]
Reflection of tall London buildings in window
Posted inAudit and Accountability Publications Uncategorized

REPORT: Rethinking local audit and accountability

There is a deep democratic deficit in local government. The UK is one of the most centralised countries in the world. Turnout in local elections is low. In many councils there is no effective opposition, further weakening accountability. This is no accident, rather a result of concentrated efforts by the central government to centralise power and undermine the public sector functions of local government.  This democratic deficit is further reinforced by a lack of oversight. Our previous report, ‘Democracy Denied: Audit and accountability failure in local government’ documented the way current local government audit arrangements contribute to a deficit in... [continues]
GUIDE: How To Read Your Council’s Accounts
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GUIDE: How To Read Your Council’s Accounts

Introduction Local authorities are required to publish accounts every year that show how they spend their money. These cover a financial year: for example 2019/20 accounts would cover the period from 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2020. They look back at spending that has already happened: the budget is a forward-looking plan for how to spend money.  Councils publish draft accounts usually in the early summer. Over 30 days, the public then has the right to inspect the accounts and in England residents have the right to ask questions about them to the auditor. They can also file an... [continues]
Posted inNewsletters

June newsletter – audit reform roundtable 29th June & more

Hello,  Hope you are enjoying the Summer that has finally come!  Below is some news from us and a very important update on the next event on audit reform - it has been rescheduled for the 29th of June, 10-11:30am. Apologies to those who had already booked. If you hadn’t yet, below is the link.   EVENTS   Audit and accountability failure in local government - where next for reform?  Tuesday 29th of June 2021, 10-11:30am, zoom With this roundtable of experts on audit and accountability, we aim to start a dialogue between stakeholders who are calling for improved audit... [continues]
REPORT: Democracy Denied: Audit and accountability failure in local government
Posted inAudit and Accountability Publications

REPORT: Democracy Denied: Audit and accountability failure in local government

Decades of funding cuts, outsourcing and commercialisation have driven local government to the brink of collapse. Scrutiny is more important than ever, yet our research shows that local authorities and their auditors actively prevent residents from exercising their rights to hold councils to account over spending decisions. Research for Action’s new report presents evidence of 155 citizen experiences of using the Local Audit and Accountability Act to scrutinise local government finances. It demonstrates serious accountability gaps, reveals the significant role played by private auditors in disempowering residents, and shows a concerning lack of accountability on the part of local authorities.... [continues]