No scope for mission failure

DAVID Cameron and Nick Clegg were to the fore yesterday, maintaining that the Regional Growth Fund announcement, which will fund 23 regeneration schemes across Yorkshire, is part of an “all-out mission” to create new jobs and counter concerns about the impact of the eurozone crisis.

Their critics will contend that Mr Cameron has been left flat-footed on this issue at two successive sessions of Prime Minister’s Questions, and that this announcement was timed to offset today’s growth figures which could undermine confidence in the coalition’s strategy.

It also remains to be seen how many of the nominated schemes will come to fruition. While Mr Clegg promised transparency to ensure that the Government’s money was backed up by private sector investment, confidentiality agreements prevented the scale and scope of some deals from being revealed.

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Likewise, there was still some uncertainty last night about how public money will be used to facilitate the long-awaited Westfield shopping complex in Bradford, and whether Ministers have received sufficient assurances that this scheme is finally on the brink of being built after so many delays.

Of course, this investment is welcome, even though the money for Sheffield Forgemasters is limited and different to the Labour-backed scheme that the Tories and Lib Dems vetoed at the outset of the Cameron premiership.

However, its success will be determined by the ability of the schemes to unlock private investment; Mr Clegg admitted yesterday that he hoped every £1 of public money would secure at least £5 of capital from entrepreneurs.

It should also be noted that the Government’s spending on the Regional Growth Fund will ultimately add up to £1.4bn over three years. By way of comparison, this is the sum that the last government spent on the now defunct regional development agencies, like Yorkshire Forward, each year. Having scrapped the RDAs, it is now vital that Mr Cameron does everything within his power to ensure that the new local enterprise partnerships have the clout to attract new investment, and advance the schemes outlined yesterday, or his “all-out mission” could come to an abrupt halt.