Member Article
Nick Clegg announces £15 million RGF investment for Yorkshire & Humber projects
A total of £15 million has been given to four projects in the Yorkshire and Humber region in Round 5. This is expected to raise £120 million of private investment and create and safeguard thousands of jobs.
Government Minister Don Foster is visiting two companies in Wakefield today as Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announces over £300 million for UK businesses in Round 5 of the Government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF).
When added to the success of the first four rounds, this represents a total of £270 million of RGF funding for 52 Yorkshire and Humber projects and programmes.
This has raised £1.7 billion of private sector investment and will create tens of thousands of jobs in the long-term.
Mr Foster is visiting two small to medium-sized businesses which have benefitted from the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership Business Growth Programme, which was given a total of £25.7 million over rounds 3 and 4 of the RGF.
Printing firm AJS North received £371,000 to relocate from Littlehampton to West Yorkshire, where they purchased and refurbished new premises in Featherstone, near Wakefield. Xamax Clothing Ltd, a small business based in Wakefield, received £18,000 from the LEP to install a new floor, increasing production capacity.
The Deputy Prime Minister said: “Yorkshire and Humberside has seen major benefits from the Regional Growth fund already, and the £15 million investment I am announcing today is making sure the recovery is sustainable and balanced across the country.
“We’re seeing very encouraging signs that the British economy is on the road to recovery. Home-grown and British-based businesses are leading that charge for a stronger economy.
“The Regional Growth Fund gives businesses a helping hand from Government to fuel business expansion and create sustainable employment.
“I pay tribute to the ambitious local companies who are using the Regional Growth Fund to create jobs locally, helping to build a stronger economy and doing it fairly. Don Foster has taken a keen interest in the Regional Growth Fund, and I look forward to discussing with him what he has taken away from his visit to Xamax and AJS North today.”
Don Foster, Deputy Government chief whip, said: “I am delighted to be visiting Xamax and AJS North today to see the impact the Regional Growth Fund is having.
“As a Government, we have been striving to rebalance the economy away from London and away from the financial sector, in order to avoid a repeat of the crash in 2008. It is projects like these in Wakefield that demonstrate the real, tangible jobs and growth delivered by the RGF.”
Of the £300 million, £119 million will help to “rebalance” the economy by supporting 37 companies from a range of industrial sectors and £182 million has been awarded to a further 13 RGF intermediary programmes, both regional and national to support small businesses and promote growth.
Round 6 of the Regional Growth Fund will open for applications in the summer.
This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .
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