MPs have questioned whether the Office for Local Government’s (Oflog) work can be ‘truly independent’ as it prepares to begin council visits this summer.

Appearing before the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee this week, the watchdog’s chief executive Josh Goodman insisted ministers would ‘respect the degree of independence promised’ but would still have input on the choice of metrics and would be ‘explicitly’ prevented from ‘critiquing Government policy’.