Should an independent commission be established to oversee the financial settlement for local government?
4.4.1 There is an established set of ground rules in central government relating to the financing of new burdens placed on local authorities. In principle this requires the responsible Government department either to transfer resources into Formula Grant or (exceptionally) to provide a specific grant. The process is policed by CLG. However decisions on the total resources required to meet a particular new burden are normally determined by the relevant government departments and are not subject to independent verification. Areas where the quantification of the additional resources required has been questioned and no conclusive justification has been produced include concessionary fares, licensing changes and asylum-seekers. An assessment of the adequacy of resource transfers by an independent body would provide a greater assurance that authorities would be properly funded for new burdens. 4.4.2 The Formula Grant model, referred to as the four block model, which was introduced in 2006/07
