The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC)
Committee has today launched an inquiry on the Office
for Local Government (Oflog), looking at the remit of this new
body and how it will engage with local authorities to help raise
performance and improve outcomes for people and places.
The inquiry will examine how Oflog will support the Government’s
set aims of levelling up, explore Oflog’s use of data and how
this will help local government performance and enable the
Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to better
support local improvement.
As part of the launch of the Committee’s inquiry, , Chair of the Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities Committee, has also written today to Michael
Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and
Communities, with a series of questions in relation to the
role and priorities of Oflog.
, Chair of the Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities Committee, said: “The new Office
for Local Government has multiple objectives, tasked with
providing local government with better data to help improve
performance while also equipping Whitehall with a further tool to
exercise accountability to central government.
“In our new inquiry, we want to examine how Oflog intends to
manage its remit and serve the public by making data on local
services more transparent and accessible.
“In a climate of continuing financial pressures on councils and
rising demands on services, we also want to assess how far Oflog
will work in partnership with local government to help improve
performance. How much independence will Oflog exercise in
supporting local councils? Will Oflog be able to come forward
with meaningful and effective data which aids councils in service
delivery rather than acting as a resource pressure for local
authorities?”
The key questions for the Committee inquiry are included in the
full terms of reference (which are listed further below).
Oflog is a new performance body focused on local government in
England. In launching Oflog,
Secretary of State Michael Gove claimed, “It will provide
authoritative and accessible data and analysis about the
performance of local government, and support its improvement.”
Oflog says its strategic
objectives are to empower citizens with information about their
local authority and to increase both local and central
government’s understanding of local government performance. In
doing so they aim to support improvements, highlight excellence
and identify risks of failure. You can find out more in their
policy paper published
earlier this year.
Evidence sessions for this inquiry are likely to begin in early
2024.
The Office for Government – inquiry terms of
reference
The Committee welcomes written evidence on
the terms of reference outlined below.
The closing date for submissions is Tuesday 9
January.
- What is Office for Local Government
(Oflog)’s intended purpose and is it on-track to achieve
it?
- What problem is Oflog seeking to
resolve? What, for example, can Oflog contribute to data and
local government that is not already being done by bodies such as
the LGA?
- What degree of independence does
Oflog have from DLUHC and how will this impact its work?
- Should the Government ensure that
Oflog supports the Government’s set aims of levelling up and if
so, how?
- How should Oflog engage with local
authorities and other stakeholders?
- How can the Government ensure Oflog
is not an additional resource pressure for local
authorities?
- Will Oflog make it easier to
identify financial problems further in advance?
- The Government has suggested there
will be an annual report for Oflog. How should this data be
verified and by who?
- What data should Oflog collect and
why?
- How can the Government ensure Oflog
collects data as efficiently as possible?
- How should Oflog select the data
sources that it uses to develop outcome measures?
- Which areas of Oflog’s focus
currently lack adequate published indicators?
- Could Oflog support
cross-departmental approaches to policy solutions and
initiatives?
- How can the Government explore how
Oflog might support the NHS and other anchor institutions
locally?
- How will Oflog support central
Government’s understanding of local areas and the challenges
communities face?
