Back in January we responded to the Communities and Local Government Committee inquiry into the audit & inspection of local authorities. In light of the Coalition Government’s announcement to abolish the Audit Commission, the Committee began an inquiry to ascertain the impact and potential effects of this decision. In our submission we made our case, largely agreeing with the decision to abolish the quango. Besides its auditing functions, the other roles of the Audit Commission – compliance and assessment – had thankfully already been scrapped altogether. Star ratings and red or green flags did not amount to a better service provided to residents; it was a box-ticking exercise, amounting to little more an expensive version of a scruffy child straightening their tie when Ofsted paid a visit. Read our response in full here
After we submitted our response, we were asked to give oral evidence to the Select Committee. Our Director Matthew Sinclair appeared yesterday and provided more arguments on why abolishing the Audit Commission is a good thing. You can view Matthew’s performance below.