Council leaders have called for growth funding to be devolved amid concerns that the complex web of funding streams was delaying projects and ‘generating frustration’.

Research commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA) revealed that £23bn of growth funding was being distributed through 70 separate pots – many of which have little or no connection to local efforts to drive growth and create jobs.

The LGA described the current system as ‘inefficient and outdated,’ and urged ministers to consider handing cash directly to councils and businesses through a single investment fund.

Chairman of the LGA’s people and places board, Cllr Mark Hawthorne, claimed millions of pounds and hundreds of days of officer time was being tied up simply trying to access public money.

He said: ‘This is proving completely counterproductive to our efforts to create jobs, build homes and develop the infrastructure we need to get our economy growing.

‘Councils and businesses want to spend this money on improving the economy – not reams of costly bureaucracy.’

Sam Clayden 03 January 2017

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