Government plans to boost regional growth

During a regional tour to the North West at the start of the year, the Prime Minister and Lord Heseltine announced plans to boost growth in all regions of the country. Meeting members of the Liverpool City Region Shadow Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the Prime Minister announced he was commissioning Tesco Chief Executive Sir Terry Leahy, a member of the Shadow LEP, Lord Heseltine and other Shadow Board members to produce a regional economic plan that will stimulate growth in Liverpool. Visits to other regions were also undertaken in January. A national LEP summit on growth and competitiveness due in the Spring will bring together LEP Chairs from across the country to prioritise action to stimulate growth at a regional level. This will be supported by additional money, to help LEPs understand the real issues facing local businesses, from a LEP Capacity Fund.

During the tour, the Prime Minister and Lord Heseltine visited Wirral Waters a site of economic redevelopment and attended a Regional Growth Fund roadshow, part of a series across the country to encourage local businesses and entrepreneurs to bid for money from the Government’s flagship £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund. Lord Heseltine chairs the Independent Advisory Panel which considers funding applications from industry with Sir Ian Wrigglesworth as Deputy.

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, said:

“In the next few years people all over our country – North, South, East, West – are going to see real change in the way local economies work. New Local Enterprise Partnerships – coalitions of business, councils and communities like the one I saw in the Wirral this morning, are already working with business leaders like Terry Leahy to get big local projects off the ground to boost regional growth. This is a step change in the way regional growth is driven. And part of that step change is the Regional Growth Fund. We are saying to people – if you’ve got an idea to bring investment and wealth to your area, the £1.4 billion Regional Growth Fund is there to help make those good ideas happen.”

The regional fund growth will operate over three years. The first of at least three bidding rounds progressed during January with further bidding rounds to be announced. Department of Trade & Industry.