By Richard Johnstone | 7 July 2014
Labour has proposed the creation of local public accounts committees to monitor the value for money and performance of public services under plans to devolve greater control of spending.
The party’s Local Government Innovation Taskforce today warned that the current system of public services, with power concentrated at the centre rather than dispersed amongst communities, was no longer affordable or desirable.
Under the current system, services are designed around Whitehall silos, and are often standardised rather than responsive to local needs, its People-powered public services report concluded.
Devolution to local areas was therefore vital to ensure that services provide integrated solutions to complex problems rather than address only one aspect, the report stated.
The taskforce concluded a ‘New English Deal’ should be offered to communities, including a radical redistribution of power and resources from the centre to localities.
This should be focused on the ability to improve services across care, employment, community safety, troubled families and early years, with funding transferred through the introduction of long-term settlements for services.
In return, the taskforce, which was chaired by Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese and Stevenage Council leader Sharon Taylor, said town halls should take responsibility for improving services.
To ensure there was accountability for public money as more power is devolved, local Public Accounts Committees should be established to scrutinise integrated spending on public services in an area, they concluded These committees would be given statutory powers to access information and as well as a power to use this evidence to make recommendations to any local public service commissioner or provider. They could also have the right to refer any refusal to implement a recommendation they regard as crucial for good governance to a relevant body for determination or further investigation – either the national PAC or a relevant secretary of state.
Responding to the report, the Centre for Public Scrutiny, which has also called for the creation of local PACs, said they would be an important extension of existing council scrutiny powers.
Executive director Jessica Crowe said: ‘It is welcome that the Labour Party nationally has now recognized that a centralised, command and control approach from Whitehall has severe limitations, and that both outcomes and accountability for spending public money can be better delivered at local level, led by democratically elected councils.
‘We believe that this will free up councils to bring services together around the needs of their local population and get over the problems caused by silo-based Whitehall funding streams. We agree that there must be strong oversight of greater devolved funding, and believe that our local PAC idea could provide this.’
• Read John Tizard’s Public Finance blog on Labour's local challenge.
