The relationship between central and local government has a faintly parental quality. Local leaders are encouraged to be entrepreneurial, innovative and accountable, but the credit card is locked in a drawer. You can run the household, but you cannot set the budget. You can be judged on outcomes, but you cannot shape the incentives.
This Government, to its credit, has shown an interest in fostering more grown-up local systems. But the system will always be hamstrung unless progress is made on fiscal devolution.
