Oflog
 | |
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | July 4, 2023 |
| Dissolved | December 16, 2024 |
| Headquarters | 2 Marsham Street, London, England |
| Parent department | Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government |
| Website | www |
The Office for Local Government (Oflog) was a body responsible for assessing and improving the performance of local government in England.
Oflog was established in July 2023 by the Conservative Sunak government[1] following a string of local authority bankruptcies, in order to collect statistics on local performance.[2] The body answered to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. In February 2024 the minister responsible, Michael Gove, set out Oflog's priorities for the financial year 2024–2025 and invited Oflog to publish a corporate plan for 2024 to 2027.[3]
From June 2024, Oflog had no chair following the departure of interim chair Lord Morse in advance of the 2024 United Kingdom general election.[4] In that month, following the release of a dataset on local government performance, The Times published an article ranking local authorities;[5] This led to criticism of Oflog for its failure to provide sufficient information on usage of the statistics,[6] with some calling for a "reset" following the 2024 election.[4]
Oflog was abolished by the Labour Starmer government on 16 December 2024.[7] Jim McMahon, Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, wrote that the government had "an urgent priority to fix the local audit system, which was not part of Oflog's remit", and said "Oflog was hampered with a vague and broad remit that risked duplication of functions performed elsewhere".[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "Office for Local Government: Understanding and supporting local government performance". GOV.UK. Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
- ^ Sandford, Mark (20 February 2024). Local audit and accountability in England (PDF). House of Commons Library. p. 9.
- ^ Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Office for Local Government – strategic remit for 2024 to 2027 and priorities for 2024 to 2025, published 15 February 2024, accessed 7 June 2024
- ^ a b Boakye, Kwame (3 June 2024). "General election has paused Oflog work". Local Government Chronicle. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Ellson, Andrew (6 June 2024). "Worst-performing councils in England revealed — where does yours rank?". The Times. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Council leader slams 'total nonsense' data in The Times authorities ranking". Wiltshire Times. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Closure of the Office for Local Government (Oflog)". GOV.UK. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
- ^ Hoult, Philip (16 December 2024). "Government shutters Office for Local Government". Local Government Lawyer. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
External links
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