Local government is responsible for providing a diverse range of local services, many of which are delivered directly by local authorities and their partners. But a significant proportion are delivered on a contractual basis, agreed through commissioning and procurement: everything from refuse collection, housing and catering through to social care provision.
While there is extensive scrutiny and debate about the quality of services, too few discussions talk about the financial architecture of these contractual arrangements. This is about understanding the geography of spend, the extent to which the funding for public services is being reinvested in local service quality or being extracted to maximise profits and financial returns for overseas investors.
