More than one in three have not published corporate or finance peer challenge in last five years

The new Government this week came under pressure to take a stronger line on councils that put off having regular corporate or finance peer challenges.

Analysis conducted by The MJ and sector expert Jack Shaw suggested more than one in three English councils have not published a corporate or finance peer challenge in the last five years despite statutory guidance, with public reports dated July 2019 or later found for only 63% of local authorities.