14 November 2008
By David Meilton
The Committee on Standards in Public Life is to conduct an inquiry into accountability in local government.
It will examine structures, how officials are held to account and the way decisions are made and scrutinised.
Committee chair Sir Christopher Kelly said on November 10: 'Local government matters — it spends billions of pounds and is responsible for so many of the local services required by all of us. The committee will want to explore whether the structures are as good as they might be to ensure robust decision-making.'
The committee, which aims to report next autumn, will consider the London mayoral system and the other 12 directly elected mayors, and compare the local authority Cabinet system with the older committee structure.
The inquiry comes as the committee published its latest report on public attitudes to standards in the public arena.
It showed that while the public retains a high level of confidence in public sector professionals, its trust in politicians is declining. The survey suggests that only 22% think government ministers tell the truth — down from 27% in 2006.
Kelly described the findings as 'deeply disturbing'. He suggested that greater openness 'meant people became aware of things which previously were carried on but they didn't know about'.
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