Twenty-five economists have called for an end to national pay bargaining in the public sector.

In a letter to The Times, they say public sector wages are often out of line with local conditions which means that in some areas it is difficult to attract the best staff, a problem which variously affects both the private and public sectors.

Professor Alison Wolf, an economist from Kings College London, told the Today programme's Simon Jack that the the recommendation is about enabling local decision-makers to attract the best staff.

"Whether or not you are in Solihill or Truro, you are actually having to respond to something that's being decided basically in London. And that's actually a very bad idea," she explained.

"Because sometimes you could be in a poor region and you actually want to pay quite a lot for an an individual person. You've got very challenging circumstances, you want to be able to get the best. But you don't want to have to pay over the odds for jobs which actually you could fill perfectly well at a lower rate.

"And, as a result, actually you're hiring fewer people than you might. In our letter, we've said very clearly this is not about taking money out of regions."

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