The Department told us about a policy paper it had recently published about its framework for detecting, managing and preventing risk.65 In relation to concrete actions, the Department told us it was “looking at the statutory powers that we have to cap borrowing” and the policy paper also says the Department is “communicating earlier with local authorities when we become aware of certain activities”.66 In 2020 we recommended the Department should “strike a better balance between supporting localism and ensuring local authorities act within the frameworks that underpin local freedoms”, including by publicly challenging behaviour where it has concerns, developing and rapidly deploying interventions that target extreme risk taking, and ensuring that future interventions are more timely and effective.67 57 Committee of Public Accounts, COVID-19: Local government finance, Fourth Report of Session 2021–22, HC 239, 4 June 2021, para 12. 58 Qq 14, 19 59 Committee of Public Accounts, Financial sustainability of local authorities, Twenty-Sixth Report of Session 2016–17, HC 708, 18 November 2016, recommendations 1, 4 and 5 60 Committee of Public Accounts, Local government governance and accountability, Ninety-Seventh Report of Session 2017–19, HC 2077, 15 May 2019, recommendation 4; Committee of Public Accounts, Local authority investment in commercial property, Eleventh Report of Session 2019–21, HC 312, 13 July 2020, recommendation