Councils are being short-changed by programmes to get people back into work, while Whitehall reaps the rewards, a new report has claimed.

The report, entitled The Benefits of Tackling Worklessness and Low Pay, which was published today (11 December) by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), warns that for every £1 of public spending saved by getting somebody back into work, 80p is accrued to central government and just 7p goes to local authorities.