LEPs win share of £5m start-up fund

THE majority of the region’s Local Enterprise Partnerships have won a share of a small pot of funding to help them get down to business.

The £5m one-off fund is being shared by 32 LEPs across the country and has been earmarked to cover start up costs such as office rental, training board members and engaging with the wider business community.

The LEPs had to bid for the funding – and demonstrate how they would become self-sustaining in the future – and most of the North West bids with the exception of Lancashire – which due to the time ot took to be formed – looks to have missed out.

Cumbria, Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester all received 100% of their bid, while Cheshire and Warrington got 90%.

Business Minister Mark Prisk said: “It’s important we give local enterprise partnerships, as much support as we can as they set themselves up and identify what their priorities are.

“The start up fund will allow them to pay for things such as training for the board members, as well as support their work engaging with the wider business community. In some cases, the partnerships have come up with some really innovative ways of using this money.

“This financial support will help the partnerships move up a gear and I’m looking forward to hearing about how further LEPs translate the ideas we’ve seen into real action to help businesses in their area and unlock growth.”