Gareth Davies, auditor general and head of the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that prime minister Andy Burnham’s devolution agenda will require significant oversight and will have to be ‘more robust’ than the framework under the old Audit Commission, which was abolished more than a decade ago in 2015.

Appearing before MPs on the influential Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Davies warned plans to devolve spending powers to regional mayors and local authorities will require far stronger scrutiny arrangements than the current virtually unaccountable system.