Decentralisation is difficult to do

As Labour leader Ed Miliband outlines his new vision for public service delivery, a new report from the Institute for Government has found that decentralisation is difficult to achieve unless lessons are learned from previous attempts.

IfG Director of Research, Tom Gash, told BBC Newsnight: "The problem with decentralisation is [that] so many people have to agree to it. You have to get your local councillors onside, your full cabinet onside and people who are notionally in charge of things like skills or reoffending to say 'I'm not going to announce any policies in these areas'. You also need to get the public to buy into it and for that to happen it needs to be meaningful for the electorate."