A leading employment adviser to prime minister, David Cameron, has urged councils and their business partners to set up ‘rebel' local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) if a formal application is rejected by Whitehall.

Emma Harrison, chair of Action for Employment (a4e), told the Local Government Association conference last week that being told by Whitehall they could not form an official LEP should not act as a barrier to dynamic localities seeking to kick-start economic growth and job opportunities.