Local government secretary Ruth Kelly is to champion the scrapping of excessive targets and urge a new era of Whitehall trust.
She told the Local Government Association conference that she wants to see 'a set of Government departments that realise that their job is to set clear frameworks for delivery and reporting, not to interfere and micro-manage'. The situation where 80% of monitoring is for civil servants' benefit has 'got to change'.
The LGA hoped that a review of targets would be completed in time for the autumn's local government white paper. LGA chair Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart highlighted the £2.5bn spent on issuing directives and guidance, overseeing bid funding schemes and inspecting councils.