We heard from the Department that its officials had assessed each town against three qualitative criteria using the knowledge of its area-based teams, rather than consulting directly with local stakeholders. The Department argued that it gave more weight to the quantitative criteria in its assessment, and that its area-based teams have a lot of contact, engagement and dialogue with local areas, which means that their views are informed.21 Similarly, we heard that Ministers relied on the Department’s area-based teams rather than consult with local stakeholders, including Local Enterprise Partnerships and local MPs.22 Of particular concern is that directly elected mayors were not consulted, despite officials specifically recommending to Ministers that they do so.23 Ministers explicitly rejected the recommendation, deciding they wanted to make decisions themselves without seeking local views.24 The Department clarified that Ministers speak regularly with mayors but that dedicated engagement on the Towns Fund did not take place.25