Lyons Inquiry into Local Government
News and events
This section of the website includes details of recent news and events, including press notices and other media communications and presentations.

Press Notices
27 March 2007 - Lyons Inquiry - National Conference
21 March 2007 - Lyons Inquiry final report and recommendations
19 March 2007 - Sir Michael Lyons's final report - launch and forthcoming conference
11 December 2006 - Lyons seeks views on maximising local government's contribution to future economic prosperity
6 December 2006 - Lyons Inquiry to advise Government on the implications of Barker, Leitch and Eddington for local government
20 November 2006 - Lyons publishes findings from public deliberation events
14 November 2006 - Lyons publishes summary of stakeholder events
8 September 2006 - Lyons to challenge local government and businesses to work together effectively in promoting economic prosperity
17 August 2006 - Lyons to meet businesses to discuss local economic prosperity
21 July 2006 - Lyons Inquiry engages public
5 July 2006 - "Local government's active support is needed now" says Lyons
22 June 2006 - Voluntary and community organisations have a key role to play in place shaping (Adobe Acrobat file: 100kb)
21 June 2006 - Lyons calls for councils to promote the role of housing in effective place shaping
14 June 2006 - Council finance chiefs should be "finance directors for council and community" says Lyons
8 May 2006 - Sir Michael Lyons publishes his latest thinking on the future role and function of local government
Index of press notices concerning the Lyons Inquiry
Speeches and presentations
Index of recent speeches and presentations by Sir Michael
News Archive
Index of news items featured on this site
Lyons Inquiry:
Council finance chiefs should be "finance directors for council and community" says Lyons
Lyons Inquiry Press Notice: 14 June 2006
 
Sir Michael Lyons will today challenge council finance officers to play a more active role in supporting local leadership, building capacity for local coordination of services and preparing the way for more difficult choices to be made at the local level.
In his speech to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Annual Conference, Sir Michael will ask treasurers whether they want to be seen not just as keepers of the town hall's accounts, but more broadly as "finance directors for council and community", taking a strategic view of investment in an area and engaging with citizens and taxpayers.
Sir Michael's speech will outline the findings of his May paper "National Prosperity, Local Choice and Civic Engagement" which concluded that:
The Lyons Inquiry will now go on to explore what this means for local taxation and local responsibilities. The Inquiry will also consider what needs to change for local government to take on a bigger role, including the convening role in coordinating services across the local area.
Notes for Editors
  1. Sir Michael Lyons was originally commissioned in July 2004 by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chancellor to make recommendations on how to reform the local government funding system by December 2005. On 20 September 2005 the remit of the Inquiry was extended to enable Sir Michael to consider issues of function before finalising his conclusions on funding.
  2. On 15 December 2005 Sir Michael issued a consultation paper and interim report, inviting responses to the questions posed by 13 March 2006. At the same time submissions received from organisations and the research commissioned by the Inquiry were also published.
  3. On 8 May 2006 Sir Michael published a further paper, "National Prosperity, Local Choice and Civic Engagement", which set out his latest thinking on the future role and function of local government
  4. Copies of the May and December reports, submissions, research commissioned, and the terms of reference for the Inquiry, can be found on the Lyons Inquiry website at www.lyonsinquiry.org.uk
  5. Sir Michael will present his final recommendations and findings to Government on the future role, function and funding of local government in December 2006.
  6. Any press enquiries should be directed to GNN on 020 7261 8356.
Contact details
The Lyons Inquiry has now closed. Please direct your queries to Communities and Local Government or HM Treasury.
Communities and Local Government general enquiries helpline: 020 7944 4400
HM Treasury Correspondence and Enquiry Unit: 020 7270 4558
Further contact details are available on their respective websites

Quick links

Lyons Inquiry archive
The Lyons Inquiry website has been selected for preservation by the The National Archives. Versions of this website, including publications, published documents and selected submissions, can be accessed from The UK Web Archiving Consortium website.

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