Labour Wants "Proper Accountability And Oversight" Of Council Finance

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner has said that there “has to be proper accountability and oversight” when it comes to local government finance, as Labour is understood to be considering whether the system could be overhauled.

A number of councils have recently found themselves in financial crises as spending pressures in areas such as social care and supporting people in accommodation have continued to rise. 

Last month, Rayner told The Guardian that she is “absolutely worried” about the prospect of more councils going under in the coming years, after Birmingham City Council and Nottingham City Council were among those authorities to issue Section 114 notices last year, declaring themselves effectively bankrupt. 

Now, PoliticsHome understands that Labour is keen to introduce more oversight to the council spending if they are voted into government at the next election, which must be called before the end of this year. 

There is a sense among officials that accountability structures when it comes to local council spending have to be brought up to date. The Audit Commission which was established in the 1980s, originally to appoint auditors to local authorities in England and Wales, was formally closed in 2015. While it is recognised that the body was ineffective in places, there is understood to be concern within Labour that there has not been an effective replacement structure introduced. 

Rayner, Labour’s shadow secretary of state responsible for the local government brief, is critical of what she believes to be a lack of scrutiny at a time when council budgets are under particular strain. 

“Over the last decade, the Conservatives have ripped away any financial oversight of local council spending, scrapping the Audit