Councils going broke. Gove's solution - spend money to find out when, rather than give them more money. Oh, and who was it abolished the Audit Commission in 2011?
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove has told the Local Government Association's conference in Bournemouth that the new Office for Local Government (Oflog) will track a number of metrics to assess the performance of elected mayors and local authorities, analysing data to "detect emerging risks of failure" to head off the risks of councils being forced to issue Section 114 notices. Financial problems in areas like Thurrock, Woking and Croydon, he said, "didn't happen all at once, they were there for some time and worsened over time", adding: "We collectively, especially in the department, need to be able to better respond to warning signs because these failures are felt most acutely by taxpayers and residents in higher costs and poorer services."