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Written question asked by Sarah Owen (Labour) on Friday, 10 November 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 14 November 2023. It was answered by Simon Hoare (Conservative) on Thursday, 16 November 2023 on behalf of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Local Government: Standards

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to section 4.2 of his Department's pre-tender market engagement document relating to the tender for provision of external assurance reviews of local authorities, reference CPD4124050, published on 1 September 2022, which local authorities were the minimum six and maximum 32 for which it was forecast that a review might be required.

Answer

The contract referenced provides for the provision of external assurance reviews of local authorities in support of DLUHC's role as steward of the local government sector and Local Government Accountability Framework. Since the contract award, it has been used to deliver reviews where councils have sought Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) from Government or engaged with the Department where there may be evidence of significant local financial risks. The Government has been transparent about the outcome of reviews and, for example, published previous reviews linked to EFS requests on gov.uk.

The referenced number of reviews, a minimum of six and maximum of 32, as per the referenced document CPD4124050 was an anticipated requirement to enable prospective bidders to submit a bid in the absence of being able to provide an exact figure due to the demand led nature of the work.

The contract award notice is published here. Spend against the contract is published here as part of normal Departmental transparency requirements.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
1396
Session
2023-24
Related items
Local Government: Contracts
Monday, 27 November 2023
Written questions
House of Commons
Local Government: Contracts
Monday, 4 December 2023
Written questions
House of Commons
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Contracts Local government Standards Reviews
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk