Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Letter: Accountability for local government

Mr David Monks
Thursday 14 April 1994 23:02 BST
Comments

Sir: Your leading article explaining some of the problems with finance in local government rightly draws attention to the limited flexibility that local authorities have in setting their council tax. This limited room for manoeuvre has prompted a number of professionals in local government to consider different methods of financing.

A possible - and radical - alternative is for local government to be funded entirely from central government grant and eliminate any local revenue raising. In return, however, local government must be given complete independence from central control in the way it delivers its services to the local people. The only formal method of achieving such a result would be, presumably, by safeguards in a written constitution for this country.

Many chief officers in local government believe it is only by this style of radical thinking that any significant improvements can be made; those wishing for a return to the past (ie, pre-capping days) are unlikely to gain support from Whitehall.

There are many who believe in the principle of local taxation, but the suggestion in this letter would increase freedom, make considerable savings and allow local government to be truly local without direct central interference in service delivery. Inevitably, there would be arguments about the method of grant distribution from central government, but whatever system is chosen it would be impossible to be worse than those used in recent years.

Yours sincerely,

DAVID MONKS

Chief Executive

North Warwickshire Borough

Council

Atherstone, Warwickshire

14 April

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in