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Barrie Williams, chairman of Business Voice West Midlands (BVWM), has said LEPs may lack the gravitas to carry out some operations currently handled by RDAs and a "coordinating body" may be needed.

Speaking in front of a House of Commons select committee, representing BVWM's LEP bid, Williams said: "When it comes to inward investment, cluster management, innovation, technology transfer and European funding, I would see the LEPs as not being of sufficient mass. A coordinating body would serve that purpose."

He also said BVWM members were sceptical of how closely LEPs could be expected to collaborate: "It is the view of our members that we don't think LEPs will work together very easily across a broad area. RDAs didn't work together, very often councils don't work together and it's very difficult to see why LEPs over such a large area would work together."

Although Williams felt a coordinating agency would bring together LEPs, his counterpart Louise Bennett, representing Coventry and Warwickshire's LEP bid, said collaboration should be allowed to develop naturally.

"I believe you have to give us time and allow evolution to happen. Collaboration and coordination will be critical," she said.

Williams expressed concerns that existing relationships with agencies such as the Manufacturing Advisory Service could be damaged if LEPs require significant time to develop relationships.

However, he was firmly in favour of smaller LEPs. At the time BVWM submitted its bid, other regions in the West Midlands expressed concern that they were not involved but he said having smaller LEPs "is not a problem".

"They should be more community based and depend on the natural size of the business communities and industries they represent," said Williams.

"I thought the whole point of LEPs was the emphasis on the word 'local'. If you're going to have 15 or 20 of them, what's the difference to RDAs?"

Ten LEP bidding teams were asked questions before the Business, Innovation and Skills select committee at the House of Commons which is investigating LEPs. The attendees were asked their views on the concept and how it could work.

Chairman Adrian Bailey told the bidders that being invited before the committee did not mean that their bids have been successful.