Most urban areas of the UK are in fiscal deficit – with public expenditure running far in excess of tax yields, the City Growth Commission has reported.

The Royal Society of Arts (RSA) Commission, led by former Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O'Neill, found Greater Manchester alone has an estimated shortfall of £4-5bn annually, equivalent to £2,000 per resident, but have little power to reverse the situation because central government collects 90% of tax revenues.

A report issued today entitled ‘Metro Growth: The UK's economic opportunity' found unlike the country's global competitors, very few UK cities are successfully driving the national economy, and many are too dependent on public sector funding

The report launch coincides with the Commission's independent inquiry into shaping city-led growth in Manchester Town Hall, which will ask how other cities could complement London's runaway economic success.