Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Accepted
Department aims to simplify local authority funding, acknowledging excessive data collection burden across multiple streams.
Conclusion
The Department published its plans for funding simplification in Summer 2023. The plan covers the whole of government and aims to simplify the number of separate funding streams available to local authorities.42 The Department told us it has introduced several practical and concrete ways to make the system more responsive and flexible with plans to reduce the burden of data collection on local authorities. The Department told us it has quarterly or half-yearly monitoring which gives it an ‘absolute ton of data’ and that it is collecting 400 indicators across 13 funds – which it said was too many.43 The Department explained the ‘pathfinder simplification pilots’ to us by telling us that it is testing how having one set of data, one delivery timescale and one payment schedule helps local authorities.44
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's conclusion regarding funding simplification, setting an implementation date of April 2025. It confirms that all ten pathfinder pilots have been agreed, the Funding Simplification Doctrine published, and provides timelines for interim and full evaluations of the pilot.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: April 2025 4.2 Since publishing the Funding Simplification Plan, all ten pathfinder pilots have been agreed and Funding Simplification Doctrine published. An interim evaluation of the pilot will be available before the end of the year, with a full evaluation published in 2026. 4.3 The Funding Simplification Doctrine came into force earlier in 2024. Prior to this, the department had intensive engagement with other departments that regularly award funding to local authorities, notably the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Department for Transport, and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. 4.4 Officials from across government have engaged actively with the development and implementation of the Doctrine. 4.5 DLUHC will use the returns from departments alongside feedback from participating teams to monitor its implementation and impact. The department continues to improve its current suite of funds, for example speeding up decision making required for a Project Adjustment Request through allowing S151 Officers (local authority Chief Financial Officers) to verify that projects remain good value for money, rather than requiring checks by analysts in the department. 4.6 The department has not sought to quantify the costs and benefits to government or to local authorities that arise from these measures. Doing so would establish a disproportionate burden on councils and arguably fall foul of the principles set out above. The department will publish the evaluation reports for the pathfinder pilot when available.