Lord Morse steps down as Oflog chair for health reasons

Lord Morse is stepping down as interim Chair of the Office for Local Government (Oflog) for unexpected health reasons.

The interim chair of Oflog, who was appointed upon the launch of the Office in July 2023, said he "would have very much liked to continue as interim and perhaps permanent Chair of Oflog" if not for the circumstances.

Lord Morse, 74, said: "I am proud of the model for Oflog that we have developed in close collaboration with the local government sector and set out recently in our draft Corporate Plan.

"It is a proportionate and nuanced approach that seeks to act with a light touch and through influence, avoiding some of the heavy-handed methods of previous eras."

He added: "I am grateful to the Secretary of State for the opportunity to perform this role, and for the freedom he has given the Chief Executive and me to shape Oflog as we saw fit.

"I want to thank the Oflog team for their immense energy and sincere commitment to seeking to help the sector. Most of all, I want to pay tribute to the thousands of people in local government who do heroic work to provide invaluable services, often in difficult circumstances."

The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, said: "I am immensely grateful to Lord Morse for his tremendous contribution to the establishment and development of Oflog. His counsel and leadership have been instrumental. I am very sorry that he is, with reluctance, stepping down."

In a letter to Oflog's chief executive, Josh Goodman, Gove said DLUHC is "working at pace" to appoint a new interim Chair, but that Goodman will have to work for a period without a chair in place.

"During that period, your strategic remit and priorities, as outlined in my letter of 15 February 2024, remain the same," the Secretary of State added. "In particular, I exhort you to continue to act with the spirit of independence set out in that letter. It remains the case that, once I have agreed your Corporate Plan for 2024 to 2027, Oflog will be free to deliver that plan as it sees fit."

Responding to the news, Cllr Shaun Davies, Chair of the Local Government Association, said: "I would like to thank Lord Morse for his leadership and extensive engagement with the LGA and wider local government family. We wish him well.

"Lord Morse has brought essential integrity to the role and we look forward to continuing to work closely with Oflog, and his successor, for the benefit of the sector and the public."

Oflog was established with the strategic objectives to "empower citizens" with data about their council, increase local leaders' and councils' understanding of their performance, and increase central Government's understanding of local government performance.

It has since launched a 'data explorer' that provides analytics on a series of metrics relating to local government.   

In January of this year, Lord Morse gave an update on plans for the Office, announcing that it would produce reports on councils as part of an 'early warning system' aimed at spotting failing local authorities.

Adam Carey