REPORT: Councillor Experiences of Scrutiny in Local Government
Posted inAudit and Accountability Current Projects Publications

REPORT: Councillor Experiences of Scrutiny in Local Government

“There are formal scrutiny committees, but I would see scrutiny as being much broader than that. For me, the point of scrutiny is being able to make issues public... and encourage public scrutiny, encourage public pressure.” This report explores councillor experiences of scrutiny in local government. It paints a picture where scrutiny is undervalued and often politicised; it also shows ways in which councillors have been able to make a difference in taking an active scrutiny role. We list some of the components of scrutiny in local government, and discuss the role of local government. We then present our findings... [continues]
REPORT: Democratising Local Governance
Posted inDemocratising Governance Projects Publications Uncategorized

REPORT: Democratising Local Governance

  This report describes the findings from an action research project in Glasgow and Sheffield, which examined the relationships between local governance and local activism.  Together with project partners from Solidarity Against Neoliberal Extremism (SANE) and It’s Our City! in the respective cities, we spoke to local campaigners and community groups between November 2022 and January 2023. Participants from both cities – working on a diverse range of issues – identified common experiences, themes, and demands for a more democratic local governance, as well as the prospects for more collectivised action. We heard widely shared concerns about local democracy and... [continues]
REPORT: Local Audit: Why public interest needs to count
Posted inAudit and Accountability Current Projects Publications Uncategorized

REPORT: Local Audit: Why public interest needs to count

Local government in the UK is in a state of deep crisis. Shrinking of the state, centralisation of power and the hollowing out of the local state have decimated the sector. Local audit should be one of the central accountability mechanisms in a well-functioning democracy, but it is not working.  Current audit arrangements in England 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, and there is less openness and transparency in local government and audit since... [continues]
Posted inCurrent Democratising Governance Projects Publications

Democratising Local Governance: No Cuts

Download a colour version of the poster hereDownload a black and white version here Download the poster back (info) hereThis poster represents one of the themes that emerged from a research project on democratising governance in local authorities.  The collaborative project focused on two cities: Glasgow and Sheffield. Our starting point was that we understood the deep democratic deficit of the local state and its governance, and how our local democracy is being captured or undercut by privatisation and commercialisation. Yet we also recognised that local authorities are also important sites of campaigning and community activism. We wanted to identify... [continues]
Posted inCurrent Democratising Governance Projects Publications

Democratising Local Governance: Power

Get a colour version of the poster hereGet a black and white version here Get the poster back (with info) here This poster represents one of the themes that emerged from a research project on democratising governance in local authorities.  The collaborative project focused on two cities: Glasgow and Sheffield. Our starting point was that we understood the deep democratic deficit of the local state and its governance, and how our local democracy is being captured or undercut by privatisation and commercialisation. Yet we also recognised that local authorities are also important sites of campaigning and community activism. We wanted... [continues]
Posted inCurrent Democratising Governance Projects Publications

Democratising Local Governance: Transparency

Get a colour version of this poster hereGet a black and white version here Get the poster back (with info) here This poster represents one of the themes that emerged from a research project on democratising governance in local authorities.  The collaborative project focused on two cities: Glasgow and Sheffield. Our starting point was that we understood the deep democratic deficit of the local state and its governance, and how our local democracy is being captured or undercut by privatisation and commercialisation. Yet we also recognised that local authorities are also important sites of campaigning and community activism. We wanted... [continues]
Posted inCurrent Democratising Governance Projects Publications

Democratising Local Governance : Care

Download a colour version of this poster here  Download a black and white version here Download the back of poster (info) here This poster represents one of the themes that emerged from a research project on democratising governance in local authorities.  The collaborative project focused on two cities: Glasgow and Sheffield. Our starting point was that we understood the deep democratic deficit of the local state and its governance, and how our local democracy is being captured or undercut by privatisation and commercialisation. Yet we also recognised that local authorities are also important sites of campaigning and community activism. We wanted... [continues]
Democratising Local Governance Posters
Posted inCurrent Democratising Governance Projects Publications

Democratising Local Governance Posters

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 state by private interests, have a direct and damaging impact on people’s ability to exercise individual and collective power in their local areas. Over... [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]
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]