Cities set to take over enterprise initiatives

Business Secretary Vince Cable is expected to approve a partnership – formed by councils and businesses to step into the void left by axed regional development agency Yorkshire Forward – set up by Leeds and the 10 surrounding authorities that form the city region.

Sheffield city region is also tipped to be given the go-ahead while York and North Yorkshire are also hopeful, but authorities around the Humber could be asked to rethink their plans amid a divide other whether the north and south banks should unite in a single partnership or go it alone.

Mr Cable will confirm the first wave of successful bids this afternoon when he publishes a White Paper on regional growth that will set out exactly what powers the new partnerships will have.

This week he admitted they will not get any Government funding for administration, leaving councils or businesses to pick up the bills for any staff they want to employ or experts they want to employ from Yorkshire Forward.

The White Paper will also set out how the 1.4bn regional growth fund will be allocated. Partnerships will be able to bid for cash from the fund, designed to help the private sector in areas heavily dependent on the public sector and vulnerable to the coming cuts.

Yesterday Barnsley Central MP Eric Illsley pressed the Prime Minister to ensure Yorkshire Forward assets are transferred over to councils so regeneration of areas can continue. David Cameron accepted that the handover had to be "handled carefully" and said assets would be "put to good use".

The agency is set to be abolished by 2012, although the Government is having to spend 1.4bn over the next four years winding down England's nine regional development agencies.