The Central-Local Concordat, signed in December 2007, enshrined the principle of devolution at the heart of the Government's relationship with local councils in England. It provides a point of reference for how this relationship should develop in the future.
Since the concordat was signed significant progress has been made, including the signing of 150 local area agreements across all of England, which means that councils and their partners can concentrate their efforts on the specific needs of the local people they serve.