A SECOND phase of growth deals must be implemented across Scotland’s cities and regions, Holyrood’s economy committee said today.

There are currently 12 such deals in place in the country, co-funded by Westminster and Holyrood, which provide hundreds of millions in cash for infrastructure projects aimed at increasing tax revenue.

But the cross-party committee concluded that they needed “reform and renewal” to dispense with “slow and overly bureaucratic processes” delaying key projects.