Global Challenge, Local Solutions: the role of scrutiny, audit and inspection in tackling the recession

06 November 2009

Foreword

The global recession is something which is having ramifications for local communities across the country. The public sector is at the front line of helping businesses and individuals to meet the continual challenge.

At this time, when the profile and demand for front-line services is high, there can be a temptation to cut back on what some call the “fourth arm” of government – those services provided by a wide range of bodies and organisations whose role is to check, on behalf of taxpayers, both that money is being spent effectively, and that policies and strategies delivered by public bodies and their partners are able to meet people’s changing demands and requirements.

Because these services – audit, inspection and monitoring, and scrutiny - are not on the front-line, and are perceived by some as being “back-office functions”, there can be a temptation to see them as a target for savings, cutting back on their resources and funding. This can be a false economy. As this report makes clear, these services play a fundamentally important role in helping publicly-funded bodies to make sure that they spend taxpayers’ money in the most effective way possible. Without the internal challenge and monitoring that these functions provide, public finances would be placed in jeopardy and the quality of services being delivered to citizens could decline.

This role is even more important during times of economic uncertainty. Councils’ scrutiny committees have already been working in innovative ways to help deliver real improvements to local services during the economic downturn. Improvements that are making life better for their citizens. This research is full of case studies and examples of the great work that scrutiny committees have undertaken.

We want to help scrutiny committees to build on these strong foundations and to go even further in overseeing spending on the delivery of local public services in their area. That is why we published the ‘Strengthening Local Democracy’ consultation paper to find out your views on what powers and tools scrutiny committees will need to undertake effectively this role. We have had a really positive response to the consultation, and we are keen to capitalise on the momentum that is building on this issue.

This research focuses on local government, and on the work carried out by councils’ scrutiny committees, but also contains information that will be valuable to all those with an interest in how inspectors, assessors, auditors and other monitoring bodies can help to address the issues arising from the economic downturn. 
 
I hope that it spurs on all such bodies to think creatively about how they can become even more crucial to our economic recovery.

Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MP
Minister for Local Government