Government pledges £950m in second Regional Growth Fund round

01 November 2011

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg (pictured) says that the second round of the government's £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund (RGF) - an investment of £950m - will help create and safeguard more than 200,000 jobs across England. The second round will support 119 bids from businesses and local partnerships with projects to expand their operations, create new jobs and attract private investment. Discussions are ongoing with a further 10 bidders about their projects.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg

Of the 201,000 jobs created or protected, around 37,000 will be directly created jobs, and more than 164,000 will be in the supply chain. The government investment will support nearly £6bn of private investment secured by the successful projects. The RGF is designed to encourage enterprise, growth and jobs in the private sector and support areas and communities that are dependent on the public sector. An estimated 326,000 jobs will be created and safeguarded the government claims.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the boost to business will jump start growth and create jobs that last in the places that really need it. "This targeted support for businesses across the country allows them to expand and create jobs. It unlocks private sector investment – with at least £5 put in for every £1 of public money. The first pot of Regional Growth Fund money is already making a difference across the country - helping to rebalance our economy so that every region and sector benefits." Some of the successful bids include:

Research and development project to investigate the introduction of a new engine into the Bentley model range with a focus on the Chinese market.

Project to stimulate investment, employment and economic growth in Bradford city centre by incentivising investment in, and speeding up delivery of, Westfield Bradford and the Central Business District, complemented by wider public investment in city centre business rate relief.

Development of new kilns and firing methods using innovative sintering processes at Ceram Research, which can be scaled up for industrial use in ceramics industry.

A more detailed breakdown of the total bids received to the first round of the fund is available on the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) website. Also available on the website is a regional breakdown of where the bids came from and their total value.