Central government wastes more money than councils do, Andy Burnham has said ahead of devolution talks where he will call for more powers on spending. The Greater Manchester mayor described the 'distrust' of local government as 'dangerous' and called for more decisions on spending to be made by councils.
Speaking at the Manchester Art Gallery on Tuesday (June 21), he suggested that the city-region should have full control over its own budget in the same way that devolved administrations in the nations of Scotland and Wales do. It comes as think tank the Institute for Government releases a report saying metro mayors should be given more power if levelling up is to be a success.
Mr Burnham was speaking at an event held by the think tank ahead of the next phase of devolution talks which he expects to start in earnest by next month. Greater Manchester has been highlighted as a 'trailblazer' for devolution in the government's levelling up white paper which was published earlier this year.
