In new research in collaboration with the University of Sussex, we make a series of urgent recommendations for making council finances less opaque during this time of critical challenge and upheaval in local government. | Research for Action
15 July 2025 In a surprise announcement, the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill, published last week, outlined the government’s plans for the Local Audit Office. The government had previously promised to fix the local audit crisis and consulted on a range of ways of doing this, but now some of these measures do not feature in the devolution legislation. The creation of the Local Audit Office (LAO) marks a significant change in the local audit regime. Since the abolition of th...| Research for Action
Dear friends and followers, Summer is in full swing and there’s lots happening in the world of local democracy. Here are some of the most recent news from Research for Action and friends, and a call for help with our current research… Government wants to abolish the committee system – against the will of Sheffield residents In June, the government announced its intent to ‘simplify’ governance arrangements for local authorities in England, effectively forcing all councils to tran...| Research for Action
On 24th June, the government announced its intent to ‘simplify’ governance arrangements for local authorities in England. The proposed legislation would force all councils to transition to the leader and cabinet model, stating that the alternative, the committee system, ‘can be unclear, duplicative, and wasteful, leading to slower, less efficient decision-making’. | Research for Action
This is an edited version of FJ’s speech at the opening panel at the municipalist summit Fearless Cities, which took place 2-3 November 2024 in Sheffield. The summit, which we co-organised with Opus Independents, Citizen Network, Care Full and Steve Rushton, aimed to consolidate a movement in Britain for claiming community assets, building communities and […]| Research for Action
On 26th November, the Government’s spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO), refused to sign off the Whole of Government Accounts – for the first time ever. Their press release was clear in its blame for this unprecedented action; the crisis of local audit resulting in the huge backlog of unaudited council accounts in England. There have been warnings about the likelihood of this scenario and – having analysed local audit’s problems for several years – we are unsurprised. ...| Research for Action
Local government in the UK is in a state of deep crisis. Shrinking of the state, centralisation of power and the hollowing out of the local state have decimated the sector. Local audit should be one of the central accountability mechanisms in a well-functioning democracy, but it is not working. | Research for Action
