The Government's levelling up plans could be undermined by Whitehall failure to monitor what works when investing in local areas, auditors have warned.

As local government secretary Michael Gove prepares to unveil the long-awaited levelling up White Paper today, the National Audit Office (NAO) published a report warning that central funds designed to boost local economies have so far been poorly monitored and may not deliver their intended outcomes - placing billions of pounds of investment at risk.