Councils should provide greater clarity about the reasons for holding reserves, according to the Audit Commission.
Its report, Striking a Balance, encourages English councils to focus more attention on the £12.9 billion set aside in their reserves – the equivalent of nearly a third of their net spending on services in 2011/12.
While the Commission found that councils routinely consider reserves as part of their annual budget setting, the report calls for officers to offer elec...
