The National Audit Office (NAO) is gearing up to scrutinise the Government’s divisive fair funding review, The MJ can reveal.
It is understood that the NAO has already spoken with ‘stakeholder bodies’ to identify key areas of concern ahead of councils transitioning to new arrangements from April.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn previously warned that Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) plans to exclude deprivation from the foundation formula would hit councils in poorer areas of the country hardest.
After pressure from shadow secretary of state Andrew Gwynne, the NAO said it would look at the exclusion of deprivation, the basis for the new area cost adjustment, the selection process used to identify individual spending areas to include within the foundation formula and the basis for excluding additional local income from the resources assessment as part of a review.
