The Government needs to review statutory duties for councils to free-up local government spending, one of the country's leading council chiefs has claimed. Speaking to The MJ, Birmingham City Council chief Stephen Hughes called on the Government to clarify what it wants from local government, starting with a simplification of the core duties. Birmingham is currently undertaking a detailed reviews of what it provides, service by service, However, its flexibility is hampered by the statutory duties. Mr Hughes told The MJ: 'They are process-based. They dictate how we do things. What would be better is if they [the Government] specified the outcomes and left it to local government to achieve.'
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