There was an ‘interesting’ session of the Public Accounts Committee in the Commons on 12th October, taking oral evidence on ‘Care Act first-phase reforms and Local government new burdens’, from some very senior civil servants.

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Click on this link to read a full transcript: Oral evidence: Care Act first-phase reforms and Local government new burdens .

It makes an interesting read! The Chair of the Committee (Meg Hillier) is the prime interrogator, and despite exercising considerable restraint, she seems to express increasing ‘weariness’ as the session progresses
– see for example the discussion on delays to the implementation of  Phase 2 of the Care Act. The exchanges between Meg Hillier and Jon Rouse (Director General, Social Care) have the feel of a ‘Yes Minsister’ script. If you have time, read the transcript…

For information, here were the participants

Monday 12 October 2015

Members present: Meg Hillier (Chair), Mr Richard Bacon, Deidre Brock, Mr Stewart Jackson, Nigel Mills, David Mowat, Stephen Phillips, John Pugh, Karin Smyth.

Sir Amyas Morse, Comptroller and Auditor General, Adrian Jenner, Director of Parliamentary Relations, National Audit Office, and Aileen Murphie, Director, DCLG & Local Government Value for Money, NAO, and Richard Brown, Treasury Officer of Accounts, were in attendance.

Witnesses:  Melanie Dawes, Permanent Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government, Dame Una O’Brien, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health, Jon Rouse, Director General, Social Care, Local Government and Care Partnerships, Department of Health, and Matthew Style, Director, Local Government Finance, Department for Communities and Local Government, gave evidence.