The Treasury is wasting money in its funding of local government and needs to have a more place-based focus, according to a report from the respected Institute for Government (IfG) think-tank.

With money tight and yet all main political parties committed to ending austerity, the study said the Treasury must ensure it gets better value for money out of public spending by focussing on outcomes.

The report slated the way councils have to bid for infrastructure funding through eight different Whitehall departments but backed the move to combined authorities.

It added: ‘Some of the devo deals have shown how accountability can be shifted from national departments, with their separate remits, to local organisations like combined authorities with a remit crossing service boundaries and accountability for economic wellbeing and the state of public services.’

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