Local government finance
Local government finance

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2007-10-09

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780215036261

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Local government Finance : Supplementary business rate, seventh report of session 2006-07, Vol. 2: Oral and written Evidence

Organization and Financing of Public Health Services in Europe
Organization and Financing of Public Health Services in Europe

Author: Centers of Disease Control

Publisher: World Health Organization

Published: 2018-06-29

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 9289051701

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What are public health services? Countries across Europe understand what they are or what they should include differently. This study describes the experiences of nine countries detailing the ways they have opted to organize and finance public health services and train and employ their public health workforce. It covers England France Germany Italy the Netherlands Slovenia Sweden Poland and the Republic of Moldova and aims to give insights into current practice that will support decision-makers in their efforts to strengthen public health capacities and services. Each country chapter captures the historical background of public health services and the context in which they operate; sets out the main organizational structures; assesses the sources of public health financing and how it is allocated; explains the training and employment of the public health workforce; and analyses existing frameworks for quality and performance assessment. The study reveals a wide range of experience and variation across Europe and clearly illustrates two fundamentally different approaches to public health services: integration with curative health services (as in Slovenia or Sweden) or organization and provision through a separate parallel structure (Republic of Moldova). The case studies explore the context that explain this divergence and its implications. This study is the result of close collaboration between the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and the WHO Regional Office for Europe Division of Health Systems and Public Health. It accompanies two other Observatory publications Organization and financing of public health services in Europe and The role of public health organizations in addressing public health problems in Europe: the case of obesity alcohol and antimicrobial resistance (both forthcoming).

Implementation of Welfare Reform by Local Authorities
Implementation of Welfare Reform by Local Authorities

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2013-04-03

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 9780215055545

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The significance, timetable and volume of the proposed welfare reforms should not be underestimated. The changes will see Housing Benefit, currently administered by local authorities, transferring into Universal Credit (UC), to be administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Moving in the other direction, Council Tax Benefit and parts of the Social Fund will be replaced with schemes designed and administered by local authorities. This report focuses on implementation and the part that local authorities are playing. It identifies four key areas that will be crucial to the successful implementation of the changes. First, these reforms require close interdepartmental working, particularly between the Department for Communities and Local Government and DWP. Second, the Government needs to work with the Local Government Association to assess the cumulative impact of the entire programme on local authorities' resources. Third, for the simplification of benefits, the Government is switching the payment of housing support from the landlord directly to the claimant. Housing associations may therefore face increased rent arrears and collection costs, though the Government has agreed that this may be offset by excluding "vulnerable" tenants and an automatic switchback mechanism (paying rent to the landlord when a tenant's arrears hit a threshold level). In addition, it is vital that DWP makes good on its assurances that the financial viability of housing associations will not be damaged by the welfare reforms. Fourth, there are concerns about the readiness of ICT systems, specifically that the systems for fraud detection within UC were still at early development even though implementation is now advanced

Audit and inspection of local authorities
Audit and inspection of local authorities

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2011-07-07

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 9780215560384

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Local authority control of audit and performance provides opportunities to improve value for money and to focus more closely on local priorities. However, there are significant risks to accountability for public money unless new legal and practical arrangements are put in place to uphold the vital principle of auditor independence. Until now the Audit Commission has been the regulator, commissioner and major provider of local government audit services (undertaking 70% of the local government audit and commissioning the remaining 30% under contract from five private audit firms). Under the changes proposed, local government will in future appoint their own auditors. The Government plans to introduce a public audit bill in the autumn. The Committee argues this legislation must set out a number of key principles to govern public audit arrangements in the future: strict adherence to the principle of auditor independence; a majority of independent members on any local audit committee; additional safeguards to ensure the continued effectiveness of public interest reporting; a proportionate and risk based approach to the scope of local government audit - to permit local innovation and application, particularly with regards to local value for money work. The Committee also welcomes the LGA's proposals for sector-led performance management, but calls on the Government to clarify arrangements for intervention in the exceptional cases of serious corporate or service failure. It also repeats its call for the Government to examine the contribution which robust local government scrutiny arrangements could make to improving local government performance.

Draft Local Audit Bill
Draft Local Audit Bill

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Draft Local Audit Bill ad Hoc Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2013-01-17

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 9780215052360

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Draft legislation intended to deliver a more efficient and transparent local audit system may not save money, potentially undermines the integrity of the audit system and may fail to deliver accountability. The principle of independent audit - which has guided public sector audit for the last 150 years - could be undermined if the bill is not amended. Most witnesses criticised the proposed independent auditor panels and felt that they imposed an unnecessary additional bureaucratic burden. They expressed strong support for the retention of a central procurement capacity for appointing auditors to local bodies in order to deliver best value on audit fees. The legislation also has some gaping holes that pose significant risks. Unless stronger safeguards are put into the legislation, whistleblowers might not be able to draw attention to serious failures in local governance. The Comptroller & Auditor General of the National Audit Office should be named in the Bill alongside the appointed auditor, as another prescribed person who may be contacted by any whistleblower. It should also have a duty to publish detailed mandatory guidance to accompany the code and to report annually to Parliament on the Code's effectiveness. Lastly, there is great concern that the draft Bill makes no provision for comprehensive like for like value for money comparisons which would enable informed judgements about the way local bodies spend taxpayer's money. It is essential that the Bill is re-drafted to include a systematic process for benchmarking and like-for-like comparisons between public bodies in the new regime.