Sheffield democracy campaigners respond to Government intention to overturn their governance referendum
Posted inAudit and Accountability Citizen Auditors Councils in Crisis Current Guest blog

Sheffield democracy campaigners respond to Government intention to overturn their governance referendum

On 24th June, the government announced its intent to ‘simplify’ governance arrangements for local authorities in England. The proposed legislation would force all councils to transition to the leader and cabinet model, stating that the alternative, the committee system, ‘can be unclear, duplicative, and wasteful, leading to slower, less efficient decision-making’.  We at Research for Action have heard from councillors that strong leader models of local governance are more centralised, leading to the marginalisation of backbench councillors and thus are often less democratic. Generally, we have strong reservations about the upcoming English Devolution actually leading to further centralisation of power... [continues]
Council tax rises – do we really get a say?
Posted inCitizen Auditors Current Guest blog

Council tax rises – do we really get a say?

By Andrew Hill  What happened to residents’ right to vote on ‘excessive’ council tax increases? What does this have to do with councils in financial crisis? This article explores the curious case of the missing council tax referendum... Everywhere you look, local councils are in distress. News stories follow the same formula: A council in England says it is ’on the verge of bankruptcy’ because of the increased cost of Special Educational Needs or adult social care, the sky-rocketing interest payments on loans, unanticipated loss of income on major projects, and so on. The council then proposes to solve the... [continues]
Posted inAudit and Accountability Citizen Auditors Citizen Debt Audit Current Events Projects

National attention on local audit catastrophe :  we saw it coming – now action is needed

 On 26th November, the Government’s spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO), refused to sign off the Whole of Government Accounts - for the first time ever. Their press release was clear in its blame for this unprecedented action; the crisis of local audit resulting in the huge backlog of unaudited council accounts in England. There have been warnings about the likelihood of this scenario and – having analysed local audit’s problems for several years – we are unsurprised. We are also worried.Why does this matter?The 2022-23 Whole of Government Accounts covers over 10,000 public bodies, including local authorities. As... [continues]
2023 in review: and looking forward….
Posted inAudit and Accountability Citizen Auditors Current Democratising Governance Newsletters Projects Uncategorized

2023 in review: and looking forward….

As 2023 draws to a close, we wanted to share with you some highlights of Research for Action’s work. It has not been a great year for democracy - for example in local audit, which is one of the areas we work in, the UK Government has chosen not to deliver promised new legislation. But at the same time we are part of new and growing networks of people determined to do things differently. It has been a year of great collaboration with others who care about local democracy, be it project partners in Sheffield, Glasgow or Europe-wide, or the... [continues]
Open Letter on Audit Reform
Posted inAudit and Accountability Citizen Auditors Current Projects Uncategorized

Open Letter on Audit Reform

21st November 2023This letter was originally published in The Byline Times. We represent a range of organisations and individuals working on audit and accountability, local government and local democracy. We are deeply concerned about the current situation in local government audit. In October, a cross-party group of MPs and Peers wrote to the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, asking him not to drop audit reform. We are also alarmed at the Government has shelving long-promised audit legislation, with no mention of it in the King’s Speech on 7th November. We are concerned that a lack of primary legislation is continuing to... [continues]
EVENT- Local Audit: Why Public Interest needs to count
Posted inAudit and Accountability Citizen Auditors Current Events Uncategorized

EVENT- Local Audit: Why Public Interest needs to count

Online Event -   Local Audit: Why Public Interest Needs to Count Weds 16th August, 7-8.30 pmPlease sign up for the event here How can we get better local government accountability from the ground up? Launch event and discussion for Research for Action’s new report Local audit in England is in a state of deep crisis. Multiple scandals of accountability have emerged, and ordinary people suffer. The current audit arrangements are failing to provide oversight and scrutiny at a time when it is particularly essential. Private interests overshadow public interests, the capacity for scrutiny and challenge at all levels has been reduced,... [continues]
Citizen Auditor Network
Posted inAudit and Accountability Citizen Auditors Current

Citizen Auditor Network

There is a worrying accountability vacuum in local government. Since the closure of the Audit Commission in 2015, there is neither any overarching oversight of local government audit, nor a central government body that has oversight of governance or spending irregularities across multiple authorities. Even though citizens have rights to information and accountability, these are not often respected. We have documented this in detail in our report, Democracy Denied (2021). This lack of accountability is particularly concerning given the alarming state of local government finances and further rounds of austerity cuts. During 2022 Research for Action has facilitated a citizen auditor... [continues]
REPORT – Citizen Auditors: Investigating local government’s accountability gap
Posted inAudit and Accountability Citizen Auditors Publications Uncategorized

REPORT – Citizen Auditors: Investigating local government’s accountability gap

Across the UK, concerned individuals and local groups are holding local government to account. Research for Action has been supporting this loose network to form closer ties, meet regularly to learn from one another, provide support and compare experiences and techniques.   This publication shows ways in which those local groups and individuals are scrutinising their local authorities, challenging poor governance and decisions they believe are not in the public interest. Citizen auditors are working on a wide range of issues relating to council spending, but also on challenging poor governance. In practice, the work involves attending council meetings and scrutinising... [continues]