Member

This matters in practice because, without that discipline, we are creating systems where responsibility becomes shared but accountability is not. It leaves both councils and mayors half in charge; of course, residents are left completely unclear as to who is responsible when things go wrong or whom they should thank when things go right. This is not a hypothetical concern; any of us who have worked in and around local government—there are several of us in the Room—know as much. Overlapping powers breed delays, frustration and waste. Further, this will all be happening at a time when local government capacity is stretched to the limit, and the last thing we should be doing is building inefficiency into the system by design.