By Lucy Phillips
29 January 2010
The Local Government Association is consulting over whether public service inspectorates should be merged into a single body.
The LGA said the move could save money and produce better assessments at local level. It would also ‘complement’ the new Total Place programme, which aims to save money by reducing service duplication and is backed by all of the main political parties.
The six watchdogs currently responsible for Comprehensive Area Assessments (the Audit Commission, the Care Quality Commission, Ofsted and the inspectorates for police, prisons and probation) would be the ‘starting point’ for the merger, according to an LGA spokesman, who told Public Finance ‘there has been criticism in the sector about their ability to work jointly together’.
The current national regime for inspecting local government is estimated to cost £2bn, judged as ‘disproportionate’ by the LGA.
David Parsons, chair of the LGA’s improvement board, said the changes were necessary to meet public expectations of services in the face of ‘a lengthy period of spending constraint and real-term cuts’.
He added: ‘We need much less central control if we are to deliver better services and lead our local areas. At the same time, increasing local accountability will strengthen democracy and save public money.’
The consultation document, Freedom to lead, closes on March 10.
29 January 2010
The Local Government Association is consulting over whether public service inspectorates should be merged into a single body.
The LGA said the move could save money and produce better assessments at local level. It would also ‘complement’ the new Total Place programme, which aims to save money by reducing service duplication and is backed by all of the main political parties.
The six watchdogs currently responsible for Comprehensive Area Assessments (the Audit Commission, the Care Quality Commission, Ofsted and the inspectorates for police, prisons and probation) would be the ‘starting point’ for the merger, according to an LGA spokesman, who told Public Finance ‘there has been criticism in the sector about their ability to work jointly together’.
The current national regime for inspecting local government is estimated to cost £2bn, judged as ‘disproportionate’ by the LGA.
David Parsons, chair of the LGA’s improvement board, said the changes were necessary to meet public expectations of services in the face of ‘a lengthy period of spending constraint and real-term cuts’.
He added: ‘We need much less central control if we are to deliver better services and lead our local areas. At the same time, increasing local accountability will strengthen democracy and save public money.’
The consultation document, Freedom to lead, closes on March 10.
