Pickles: top roles can be combined

Councils will be given the power to combine the roles of elected mayor and chief executive, Eric Pickles, the communities secretary, has confirmed.

He was speaking at a summit on the local government offer, a framework for action that would allow councils to do more with less money. Also at the event was Baroness Margaret Eaton, LG Association chairman, who took her seat in the House of Lords last week. She said the Association’s offer had received a “warm response” from government departments.