Rishi Sunak has called for scrutiny to receive a ‘strong commitment from the top' of councils amid warnings about the risk of further Whitehall intervention.

Speaking ahead of the publication of new Whitehall guidance on scrutiny, local government minister Mr Sunak admitted that it ‘may not often be the subject that often grabs the headlines' but stressed the importance of establishing a ‘positive and open organisational culture' in which the practice could flourish.