Every town and city should have a public accounts committee led by councillors that holds local services to task, according to a leading think tank.
The Centre for Public Scrutiny argues the move would support greater devolution and boost local democracy.
Committees would reflect local priorities but all would focus on shared accountability for outcomes across a number of public services and have a clear line of sight to and from parliament.
‘Our local public accounts committee idea has the potential to provide a transparent, powerful and high-profile form of local accountability as part of a more place-based approach to public service management,’ said Jessica Crowe, executive director of the Centre for Public Scrutiny.
‘It would be able to hold political and managerial leaders across public services jointly to account in a visible and democratic way, with local councillors in the driving seat.
‘We know that the challenge which such a body could provide will not be universally popular but we are pleased that the idea is being taken seriously in a number of places and we are now developing practical ideas for how it might work as an important part of securing genuine devolution of power from central government.’