Local Government: Disclosure of Information
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has undertaken an assessment of the adequacy of compliance with the Local Government Transparency Code by local authorities.
Answered by Alison McGovern
The purpose of the Local Government Transparency Code 2015 (the Code) is to make it easier for the public to directly hold their local authorities to account, not as a means for central government to monitor them. Therefore, the government does not monitor compliance with the Code.
If there were concerns about a local authority’s compliance with the Code, a complaint could be made to the authority’s Monitoring Officer, or via their complaints procedure. It is possible to make a Freedom of Information request if local authorities continue to fail in fulfilling their duties under the Code, or to make a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman where the usual complaints procedures have been exhausted.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →