The first local spending report was published on 29 April this year, following the first phase of our consultation on this topic. The report is available on the DCLG website.
I thank the Minister for that response, but it has been estimated that unelected quangos now spend £64 billion a year—equivalent to more than £2,500 for every single household. Why are the Government so reluctant to fulfil their pledge and allow local spending reports to publish figures on quango expenditure in local areas?
The Government are not reluctant to allow quango expenditure to be included in local spending reports. In fact, what we want to do is develop local spending reports to include this amount, but we have to look at the cost-effectiveness of doing so, and we are not in a position to include quangos at the moment.