Voluntary Organisations: Tower Hamlets

(asked on 18th July 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the recent decision by the Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets Council to enable decision-making on grants to voluntary sector organisations to be undertaken in private.


Answered by
Rachel Maclean Portrait
Rachel Maclean
This question was answered on 26th July 2023

The Government is committed to ensuring the good record of transparency, probity, scrutiny, and accountability is maintained across councils in this country.

The Government expects a well-functioning local authority to act transparently in carrying out its functions. Local authorities must comply with the statutory Best Value Duty to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement, having regard to efficiency, economy and effectiveness. Local authorities are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000, meaning members of the public are entitled to request information from them.

On 4 July, the Government published draft statutory guidance on Best Value Standards and Intervention for consultation. The guidance provides greater clarity to the local government sector on how to fulfil the Best Value Duty by describing what constitutes best value, the standards expected by the department and the models of intervention at the Secretary of State's disposal in the event of failure to uphold these standards.

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