The delivery of support aimed at helping people into employment should be devolved to groups of local authorities, a new report from the Work and Pensions Committee has said.

Chairman of the Local Government Association's (LGA) people and places board, Kevin Bentley, said: ‘As this report recognises, each area has its own unique labour market including a mix of jobs, qualification levels, unemployment and vacancies, therefore it makes sense to devolve responsibilities for addressing these to local authorities.

'We need to move away from a top-down, centralised approach.

'Given the right powers and resources over employment and skills funding for every place, councils could build on their track record of helping to get people back into work – including those who are furthest from the jobs market – and plugging growing skills gaps.'