Staffordshire firms urged to apply for RGF support
BUSINESSES in Staffordshire have been urged to apply for Government funding to help them secure plans for growth.
Sir Ian Wrigglesworth, visiting Keele University to promote the Government’s £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund, said the fund offered businesses and entrepreneurs the opportunity to shape their economic destiny.
Sir Ian is deputy chair of the Independent Advisory Panel, led by Lord Heseltine, set up to assess which schemes are worthy are support from the RGF.
The fund was established by the coalition Government to support business growth following the demise of regional development agencies.
It has two key objectives: to stimulate enterprise by providing financial support for projects and programmes which promise economic growth and jobs; and to help buffer communities against the impending public sector cutbacks.
Critics claim the fund is under-financed and that most of the £1.4bn will be swallowed up in the first round of bidding leaving vulnerable communities with serious challenges offsetting job losses and economic decline brought on by reduced public spending.
To promote the benefits of the fund – and silence the critics – panel members are touring the UK in a series of forums designed to offer more information about how to apply for funding.
The Government wants to encourage businesses and entrepreneurs to come forward with proposals that satisfy the criteria for growth in the hope it will encourage their local area to thrive.
Up to 175 local businesses, entrepreneurs and civic leaders were expected to attend yesterday’s forum at Keele, which is set to be a major centre for medtech innovation – one of the high growth sectors identified by the Government as capable of spearheading an economic recovery.
Sir Ian said: “This fund is not about central government control. This is a fund that private enterprise and partners can submit bids for, to support their actions to create more jobs and economic growth in their region.
“I hope today’s roadshow will inspire local people to think strategically about how this fund can best support growth in their community.
“The Regional Growth Fund presents an opportunity for businesses and entrepreneurs in the West Midlands to help shape their own economic future.”
The growth fund will operate over the next three years. The first of at least three bidding rounds, closes on January 21. Further bidding rounds will be announced once early applications have been assessed.
The full membership of the Independent Advisory Panel is: Lord Heseltine, chairman; Sir Ian Wrigglesworth, deputy chairman; Felicity Goodey, businesswoman and former senior BBC journalist; Tony Greenham, Programme Head, New Economics Foundation; Sir Richard Lambert, Director General, CBI; Jon Moulton,chairman, Better Capital equity group; Caroline Plumb, entrepreneur, Freshminds; Sir David Rowlands, chairman of Gatwick Airport Ltd and Angel Trains Group Ltd; Mark Seligman, chartered accountant and banker, Credit Suisse; Andrew Shilston, Finance Director, Rolls Royce; Lord John Shipley, former leader of Newcastle City Council; and Tony Venables, academic economist, Oxford University.
