Council chiefs have called for a systematic rethink of business rates distribution, amid fears the Exchequer's share of increased local yields will be used to cut other local grants.

The demand comes after last week's publication of official local government financial figures which outline the main sources of council revenue spending over the past 20 years. According to the statistics, redistributed non-domestic rates, which made up 28% of revenue expenditure in 1993/4, had fallen to 19% of the total by 2011/12.