SCHOOLS watchdog Ofsted has been urged to move its headquarters to Huddersfield.

The call came from Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman in a meeting with David Bell, Ofsted's chief inspector of schools.

Mr Bell was being quizzed by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education and Skills, which is chaired by Mr Sheerman.

The Labour MP said: "I have been pushing for Mr Bell to get Ofsted relocated from London to the North - and particularly Huddersfield.

"At the committee meeting, I invited him to give the idea serious consideration."

He said Mr Bell had previously acknowledged that being based in the centre of London prevented Ofsted seeing the "big picture" about education around the regions.

Huddersfield business leaders have also urged the Government to move more departments to northern regions.

They say the hundreds of jobs this would bring would boost local economies and bridge the North-South divide.

In a report last December, the Aspley-based Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce said measures to transfer departments from Whitehall had not gone far enough.