Councils call for one national inspectorate

The proposal, part of a consultation called Freedom to Lead, is designed to make inspections more efficient.

The LGA also wants to drastically scale back the national indicator set, devolve more cash for local services to councils and introduce new targets for authorities, negotiated with local people, not central government.

It claims that local councils are better placed to run aspects of health and policing services, since they are in touch with local needs.

The consultation cites the government's Total Place pilot scheme, currently running in 13 local authorities, as evidence that local devolution works.

Results from the pilots, which seek to improve the efficiency of public bodies, show that around £7,000 is spent providing services such as health and education for each person every year. But locally elected politicians only control £350 of that sum.

The LGA argues that far more of that sum should come under local control.

David Parsons, chairman of the LGA's Improvement Board, claimed local government is the most efficient part of the public sector.

"Local government leaders are rightly looking for ambitious solutions. We need much less central control if we are to deliver better services and lead our local areas. At the same time, increasing local accountability will strengthen democracy and save public money," he explained.

"We want to hear from councils, their local partners and others on our propositions. We also want to hear from the main political parties as to how these ideas fit in with their plans."

The consultation closes on 10 March. The findings from the Total Place pilots will also feed into the final proposals, which will be published in April 2010.