Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 54
54
Accepted
Publish supporting information demonstrating necessity and form of new Exceptional Financial Support cases.
Recommendation
When the Ministry announces new cases of EFS, it must publish alongside its announcement sufficient supporting information to demonstrate how it determined that EFS was necessary, how much it would provide, and what form it would take. This published information should be the same information that the Ministry used to make its decision. (Recommendation, Paragraph 205)
Government Response Summary
The government states it already maintains transparency regarding EFS and publishes external assurance reviews, which cover the reasons, assessment, and amount of support, on GOV.UK.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government has always maintained transparency regarding which councils have been in receipt of EFS and the amount of support provided. As part of the EFS framework, councils are required to undergo an external assurance review of their financial position ahead of being issued with a formal capitalisation direction. These reviews cover the reason for a council’s request for support, provide an assessment of the support request and are all published on GOV.UK.