More scrutiny is needed to ensure that increasingly powerful mayors are held to account, think tank says.
IPPR North warned that systems of accountability haven’t ‘kept pace’ with the growing power and autonomy of mayors.
It proposed the establishment of independent, well-resourced Mayoral Authority Accountability Committees (MAACs) to improve scrutiny.
The think tank characterised the proposed committees as ‘watchdogs with bite’.
Director of IPPR North and report co-author, Zoë Billingham commented: ‘Mayors are getting more power and that’s a good thing. But the systems that keep them in check haven’t kept up, and will hold devolution up if left as they are.’
She added: 'We need to beef up scrutiny, do it properly, and design a watchdog that ambitious councillors want to be part of. MAACs are the answer to this pressing need and the English Devolution Bill is the government’s opportunity to get this right.’
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