Town halls have spent a staggering £23m of public money on consultants to help them bid against each other for money from the flagship £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund.
An investigation by The Northern Agenda politics newsletter lays bare the absurdity of the country's 'begging bowl' funding culture as local authorities spend as much as £1.3m each on outside experts to improve their bids for regeneration cash.
At least £23.4m has been paid by councils across the country to consultants, with £9.27m paid out by leaders in the North of England despite many Northern areas being among the poorest in the country.
