LGA issues guidance on financial governance during local government reorganisation

The guidance explains why a focus on financial sustainability is “so important in the period up to vesting day”.

It covers:

• Background
• Financial governance and sustainability: What do we mean by this?
• Financial governance and decision making in LGR programmes
• Financial sustainability in the context of LGR
• Successful collaboration
• Understanding the financial baseline
• Implementation costs and funding for the LGR programme
• Summary

The guidance says in the summary: “Maintaining effective financial governance across all existing councils is essential during LGR: both members and officers are accountable for ensuring that this happens, and that appropriate assurance is undertaken.

“The council’s statutory officers (Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer and Section 151 officer) have critical responsibilities and have key leadership roles both collectively and individually to ensure high governance standards whilst supporting the LGR programme to deliver new unitary councils.”

It adds: “The internal control framework and local code of good governance are key tools in maintaining good governance and ensuring best value decision making is maintained. This should be actively supported by the audit committee, and internal and external audit as appropriate.

“By maintaining effective financial governance during LGR, members and officers will together ensure the new unitary council/s have a better opportunity to deliver financial sustainability into the future and should therefore be better placed to invest in future transformation programmes to deliver the new council/’s ambitions.

“Most importantly, councils will be able to demonstrate that value for money and financial stewardship of public funds was maintained throughout the LGR programme.”