DCLG ministers were this week described as ‘hypocritical' for slashing Eland House's spending on small businesses while lecturing councils to use SMEs more regularly to kick-start local growth.

Shadow local government secretary Hilary Benn attacked the DCLG's stance on SMEs (small and medium-sized firms) in the wake of a parliamentary question asking ministers to detail how much the department had spent with small, medium-sized and large businesses since the coalition came to power.