The Local Government Association has failed to rule out scrapping its central bodies in the latest business review.
Rumours are rife in local government that the review will absorb some or all of the central bodies – including the Improvement and Development Agency – in a bid to have a more joined-up approach to representing the sector.
Director for corporate strategy at the LGA, Chris Lawrence-Pietroni, told The MJ no recommendations for structural changes had been made yet, as they were ‘secondary' to the review.
‘We need to remove the barriers to the LGA family as a whole, working as one.' He said: ‘It's clear to us that councils want a seamless service from us.'
It is thought that some or all of the bodies – which include the IDeA, the Leadership Centre, Lacors, 4Ps and Local Government Employers (LGE) – could be amalgamated into The Association in a bid to cut overheads and scale them down to their core functions and saving top slice cash.
Chief executive Paul Coen has written to staff outlining some of the plans put forward in the review, which will go to the LGA executive next month.
In a hint of the possible outcomes, he said the LGA must ‘justify where we act separately'.
The review aims to:
The business review is the second major review of the LGA in just over 12 months.
The Best Commission called for the central bodies to come more clearly under the LGA leadership, but fell short of removing their separate identities.
