The community right to challenge (CRTC) gives community and voluntary sector organisations and groups of council staff the right to 'challenge' councils by putting forward an expression of interest (EOI) in running their services.
A successful challenge would result in a competitive procurement exercise in which the challenger would be able to take part, along with other interested organisations.
We welcome the chance to talk to organisations about the delivery of services and improvements to best meet the needs of service users.
We recognise the valuable role that voluntary and community organisations play in delivering local services and are committed to working closely with them. We welcome informal approaches to discuss options around taking on services, so that wherever possible the formal CRTC process should be the last resort. This includes informal approaches from staff to run services without formally invoking the CRTC.
An EOI can only be accepted from certain types of organisations and requires specific information, as detailed in the statutory guidance. The following are eligible to submit an EOI under the right to challenge:
- voluntary or community bodies
- charities
- parish councils
- two or more local authority employees of the relevant authority
- any other person or body specified by the Secretary of State by regulations
We accept EOIs between 1 January and 31 March each year. We acknowledge receipt of your submission within 30 days and advise of the timescale for giving our decision, with the latest date being 30 April. All EOIs will be determined by 30 June.
If you're considering submitting an EOI, we suggest you read about the process that will be followed. There's also an expression of interest form to complete.