Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Accepted
Ministry lacks control over cross-government decisions impacting local services, needing clear accountability.
Conclusion
The Ministry is in regular contact with other departments and government bodies about the needs of local government, but it lacks the levers that it needs to control decisions across central government. In our view, merely discussing the issues with other departments is not enough. To properly reform and stabilise these vital services, clear lines of accountability between relevant departments are needed, with the responsibilities for overall delivery and for funding being held together in a single department (even if delivery in practice is managed by several). (Conclusion, Paragraph 38)
Government Response Summary
The government announced the Local Government Outcomes Framework (LGOF) on 3 July 2025, which will be published alongside the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2026–27, and will be actively used from April 2026 to guide outcome-based accountability.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
28. The Government recognises that greater flexibility for local decision-making is critical to the sustainability of local government. The former Deputy Prime Minister announced the LGOF on 3 July 2025, setting the direction of travel towards outcome-based accountability for councils in England, focused on the impact of spending on local communities rather than micro-control of ringfenced grants. 29. Following a period of engagement with the local government sector, the final Framework will be published alongside the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2026–27. We expect that from April 2026, government will actively use the Framework to support delivery and, where necessary, take action in response to poor public service outcomes for local people. 30. A full transition to outcomes-based accountability will require a significant cultural shift across central and local government and our work will continue beyond April 2026. This includes working across government to move further away from using ringfences and other reporting requirements, and working with local government to ensure outcomes-based accountability is implemented in a way that genuinely supports councils to improve outcomes for local people.