Three-quarters of senior council figures believe chancellor Alistair Darling's Budget was ‘bad' for local government. A survey by the think-tank Localis, published on 22 May, polled opinions from local authority leaders, directors and chief executives across England and Wales. It found that 78% of respondents thought the Budget was bad for the sector, while 80% believed Mr Darling ‘should have recognised a greater role for councils in dealing with the recession'. Surprisingly, just 35% of respondents were ‘positive' about the Government's announcement of the two first city-regions – Greater Manchester and Leeds. Localis also found that 42.1% of senior staff thought local government's £5.5bn efficiency savings target for the next two years was not achievable. The figure was even higher for districts, with more than 60% doubtful.