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Plans for an additional tax to be placed on businesses across the West Midlands are set to be abandoned this week.

The West Midlands Combined Authority's board is expected to confirm the so-called 'Business Rate Supplement' will now not go ahead when it meets on Friday.

The supplement is a four per cent blanket increase on West Midlands business rates and is intended to be used for additional investment into infrastructure projects.

It had been discussed for a number of years as a way to fund the expansion of the West Midlands Metro and other transport, housing and regeneration projects.

The combined authority said that scrapping the plan would avoid businesses paying an additional £34 million per year, assuming it is agreed at its board meeting.

In particular, this is expected to help manufacturers with large floor spaces for their facilities and large retailers which are anchor tenants in high streets across the region.

The authority said it was able to make this commitment in part because it and Mayor Andy Street had attracted more than £1.8 billion of extra government investment in the region since he took office in May 2017.

Efforts to secure further funding to invest in transport, housing and jobs in the region will continue via channels such as the Comprehensive Spending Review later this year, deals with º£½ÇÊÓƵ and international investors and the Shared Prosperity Fund being set up to replace EU structural support after Brexit.