Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the National Audit Office report of March 2016 on Local Enterprise Partnerships, HC887.

We welcome the findings in the report, and the helpful scrutiny of our approach. As the report recognises, the Government is pursuing an ambitious devolution agenda, aimed at empowering local areas through devolution of powers and budgets. We have put clear assurance systems in place with the right balance of local and central accountability. We will continue to work with Local Enterprise Partnerships and local places to ensure this system remains robust.