In the past weeks we’ve seen renewed devolution pledges from the Government.

In the Spending Round, the chancellor announced the Government will ‘turn the page of austerity’, promising substantial increases in public spending. For the first time in a decade, local government will get a boost in real term resources. While this is welcome, a short term approach does not go far enough in re-wiring a system that has been slashed by years of cuts. Councils need to return to a reasonable funding base. This requires a consistent place-based approach to public spending that gives localities more control and provides multi-year budgets – so that local leaders can plan long term rather than firefight.