New report on making councils’ financial information more accessible
Posted inAudit and Accountability Councils in Crisis Publications

New report on making councils’ financial information more accessible

 In new research in collaboration with the University of Sussex, we make a series of urgent recommendations for making council finances less opaque during this time of critical challenge and upheaval in local government.   At a time when scrutiny of council finances is even more important than ever – as authorities declare effective bankruptcy and rely on borrowing and flogging off their assets to balance the books – even experienced researchers, accountants and councillors struggle to find and understand local authority financial information. This is the core finding of a new report by Research for Action and the University of... [continues]
Press release: Local Audit Office plans in devolution bill do not go far enough in fixing crisis
Posted inAudit and Accountability Councils in Crisis Current

Press release: Local Audit Office plans in devolution bill do not go far enough in fixing crisis

15 July 2025 In a surprise announcement, the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill, published last week, outlined the government’s plans for the Local Audit Office. The government had previously promised to fix the local audit crisis and consulted on a range of ways of doing this, but now some of these measures do not feature in the devolution legislation.  The creation of the Local Audit Office (LAO) marks a significant change in the local audit regime. Since the abolition of the Audit Commission in 2015, local authorities have been audited by private companies. This has resulted in declining quality... [continues]
Summer News: governance upheavals, audit reform saga, how you can help our research
Posted inAudit and Accountability Councils in Crisis Current Newsletters Projects

Summer News: governance upheavals, audit reform saga, how you can help our research

Dear friends and followers,  Summer is in full swing and there’s lots happening in the world of local democracy. Here are some of the most recent news from Research for Action and friends, and a call for help with our current research…Government wants to abolish the committee system - against the will of Sheffield residents In June, the government announced its intent to ‘simplify’ governance arrangements for local authorities in England, effectively forcing all councils to transition to the leader and cabinet model. It said that the alternative, the committee system, ‘can be unclear, duplicative, and wasteful, leading to slower, less... [continues]
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]
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]
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]