Local Government: Procurement

(asked on 9th October 2017) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what criteria local authorities must consider when deciding to purchase private land and properties.


Answered by
Alok Sharma Portrait
Alok Sharma
COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
This question was answered on 17th October 2017

Local authorities contemplating the use of their compulsory purchase powers to acquire land and properties should consider, amongst other things, whether there is a compelling case in the public interest for doing so. They should also take account of government's guidance on the compulsory purchase process, which was published in October 2015.

The Local Government Act 1999 (Part 1, Section 3) requires an authority to carry out the functions designated to it in accordance with the ‘best value duty’. This requires that "A best value authority must make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness”. The duty applies to the full range of an authority’s activities.

Local authorities have the freedom to borrow and invest, including in land and property purchases, without government consent, provided that their borrowing is affordable. Control is exercised through four statutory codes that local authorities are required to have regard to, two prepared by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and two prepared by DCLG. This framework is known as the “Prudential System”. We are currently working with CIPFA to revise the statutory codes and guidance and the intention is for these to be in place early in 2018.

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