The increasing fragmentation in council funding ‘undermines central government's understanding of service delivery' and ‘risks impeding value for money,' a report has warned.

Research for the Local Government Association (LGA) found at least 448 unique grants were issued to the sector between 2015/16 and 2018/19, with more than 50 worth less than £1m – less than 0.25% of the budget for a typical metropolitan district or London borough.