Recommendation 10

The proliferation in recent years of small, often one-off and ring-fenced grants, sometimes involving a competitive bidding process, and the uncertainty around such funding, can hinder robust financial planning and management by local authorities, as has been acknowledged by the Public Accounts Committee. Ring- fenced grants also limit councils’ flexibility to match spending to need. Reducing their number would give councils greater control over spending and would be consistent with our previous recommendation that councils be given great revenue- raising powers. (Paragraph 43) Local authority financial sustainability and the section 114 regime 41