Supplementary memorandum by the Office
of the Deputy Prime Minister (AR 01(c))
My colleagues and I gave evidence to the Committee
on 25 October as part of your inquiry into my Department's Annual
Report and Accounts.
During questioning over the changes to local
authority governance arrangements we introduced through the Local
Government Act 2000, I referred to the discussion document—Vibrant
Local Leadership—which ODPM published in February 2005 in
order to stimulate discussion on local leadership issues.
That document is underpinned in a large part
by evidence drawn from the long term evaluative research we have
commissioned the University of Manchester to lead. Evaluating
Local Governance: New Constitutions and Ethics is a five year
evaluation of changes to local government arising from the Local
Government Act 2000. The evaluation—which is funded by my
Department—is studying the working of new council constitutions
and the integral new ethical frameworks. It is part of a group
of evaluations of the local government modernisation agenda.
The early years of the project have explored
how the new arrangements have been implemented. The project is
now assessing the outcomes and impact of the changes on key criteria
such as efficiency, transparency and accountability, and in improving
trust, consistency and clarity in conduct. A variety of approaches
are being used over the five years including postal surveys, visits
and interviews. Details of the project can be found at: http://www.elgnce.org.uk.
This major project is being supplemented by
other in-depth studies, including two projects just announced
on overview and scrutiny and mayors.
Phil Woolas
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