Local government jobs may increase, Rosie Winterton has said.

The local government minister was announcing increased support for councils to eradicate unemployment and increase apprenticeships.

She emphasised that each local authority must take responsibility for its role in tackling the crisis of the economy and joblessness, illustrated by the recent £40 million grant to 61 councils.

Ms Winterton noted that three new measures have been introduced to help local governments find their way in this matter, including help with tackling worklessness in their area and the ability to create an executive decision-making body to promote economic growth.

"Recessions can cast a long shadow and this time we”re determined not to leave behind a generation of people plunged into long-term worklessness," she added.

It was recently announced that local governments would be handed greater powers to hold the public services in their areas accountable for failings, regardless of whether these services are owned publically or privately.

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