MPs have demanded that business advice schemes are scrapped to end companies' confusion.

A highly-critical report by the Commons' trade and industry select committee said there were 240 support organisations for firms in the North-East.

It said the enormous number made it "impossible for companies to understand what support is available and to access appropriate help".

It called on regional development agencies (RDAs) One North-East and Yorkshire Forward to end the "institutional clutter".

RDAs, which were created by the Government in 1999 to attract new investment to struggling areas, were partly to blame for duplicating schemes in their early years, the report said.

It added: "RDAs have not made much impact on reducing the confusingly large number of business support organisations and the schemes they offer.

"Where organisations are able to add something genuinely helpful to business in their region or sub-region, then the RDA should work with them.

"But, where this is not the case, the RDAs should use either their direct powers to abolish them or their influence to diminish them."

The report also criticised the tendency of England's development agencies to concentrate on developing "clusters", particularly of high technology companies.