There has been a lot of focus recently on oversight of councils, in light of serious financial failings at some councils, including Thurrock, Croydon, and Northamptonshire – all of which resulted in formal intervention from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
But there has been less discussion about the other major financial intervention involving DLUHC – with the Treasury recently removing the department’s power to carry out any new capital spending.
This has reduced the limit DLUHC can spend without Treasury approval from £30 million to £0, leaving the absurd situation of the Levelling Up Secretary no longer having the power to sign off on the installation of a park bench.
How have we come to this?
There are concerns about the slow delivery of levelling-up funds, with only 5 per cent being spent in the first 12 months.
“The Treasury recently removed DLUHC’s power to carry out any new capital spending”
The National Audit Office said DLUHC “doesn’t know whether billions of pounds of public spending has had the impact intended”. It appears the Treasury now agrees the department is not delivering ‘best value’.
The problem is the way these funding streams have been conceived – as a politically-motivated begging bowl for pet projects, instead of considered investment in place-based infrastructure led by local communities.
Under a Labour government, a new Take Back Control Act will provide the framework for genuine economic devolution to our towns and cities, with better accountability between national and local government.
This new way of governing will build a fairer, greener future for every part of our country.