16 May 2008
The regulatory burdens on council finances should be lightened, an independent task force recommended on May 15.
The fifth report of the Lifting the Burdens Task Force, the body charged with finding ways to cut red tape imposed on councils by government departments, examined the administrative duties around Private Finance Initiative schemes, the assessment of councils' value for money and data returns.
It found numerous areas of duplication and unnecessary red tape.
Stephen Jones, Local Government Association director of finance, who led the review, said: 'Much has been done to streamline the financial reporting burdens that are placed on councils. However, the report clearly throws up a number of areas where significant improvements could be made to ensure that local authorities are not subject to unnecessary red tape.'
The review found bureaucracy around PFI projects that could lead to 'value-destroying delays', value-for-money regulation costs of around £3m in management time, and that the 400 data returns to central government included duplication and overlap.
It suggested that: departments should publish advanced 'preferred timetables' for evaluation of PFI bids and change criteria for projects only when the benefits outweighed the difficulties; the Audit Commission should rely more on councils' own data to avoid duplication; and departments should work harder to simplify data returns.
'Councils want to demonstrate that they are providing ever better value for money for taxpayers,' Jones said. 'Many have very good systems in place to enable them to do this, but auditors don't always appreciate the quality of the information available.'
But local government minister John Healey immediately rejected the bulk of the recommendations. He said the government had a good track record on cutting red tape, such as reducing performance indicators for councils from 1,200 to 198 and agreeing to cut the information required from frontline services.
But, he said, the processes presented as burdens were needed for proper financial management.
'So, for example, the proposal to merge certain data returns doesn't sufficiently take into account the reasons for those returns.
'And the recommendations on [the] PFI don't take fully into account the fact that PFI projects vary significantly and so to accept those recommendations in full would result in an unacceptable restriction of the government's role in ensuring value for money for the taxpayer.'
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