Recommendation 6

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)