Ombudsman report shows need for strong role for monitoring officer: LLG

An Ombudsman report expressing concern about the impact of budget cuts on councils’ statutory services and decision-making has shown the need for a strong role for monitoring officer, Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) has said.

It was reacting to a report Under Pressure issued by Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Michael King (pictured), which warned local authorities not to “throw out the rule book” when redesigning services in the face of budget pressures.

Mr King said: “The way councils have adapted and innovated in the face of huge challenges is to be admired. But the lesson from this report is for councils to get the basics right and not throw out the rule book when working under pressure.

“The core principles of good administration are more important than ever when undergoing major transformation.”

Notable pitfalls to avoid included ensuring changed services continued to meet statutory levels and timescales, and that discretionary powers were not replaced by a ‘one-size fits’ all approach.

Examples of problems seen by the Ombudsman service included a policy for investigating noise nuisance effectively rationed by requiring more than three people to complain before launching an investigation, and repeated staff cuts leaving a council with no ‘corporate memory’ and unable to explain how its parking zone policy had been decided.

Mr King said: “While I appreciate the challenges councils are dealing with, we cannot make concessions for failures attributed to budget pressures and must continue to hold authorities to account against relevant legislation, standards, guidance and their own policies.”

LLG president Suki Binjal said: “The  instability that comes with wholesale transformation of local government services has come at a price, with the [Ombudsman] painting a picture of unintended consequences of ill-informed decision making that should not be ignored.

“Crucial to a more positive future is the elevation and strengthening of the arm of the monitoring officer, who is ideally placed to ensure that restructure and service redesign is legal, ethical, and properly communicated. Good governance and strong scrutiny is everything.”

Local Government Association improvement and innovation board chair Peter Fleming said: “Local government is one of the most trusted parts of the public sector and councils always strive to improve and make it easier for residents to give feedback. 

“However, unprecedented funding pressures and demand for adult and children’s social care and homelessness services is pushing councils to the limit. As a result less money is being spent on the other services.”

The Ombudsman has also published a revised Principles of Good Administrative Practice document. 

Mark Smulian