‘Slow’ Government accused over cash for companies

Labour leader Ed Miliband claimed the Government has released 22 Press releases about its £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund but only two companies have yet seen any money six months after successful bids were announced.

His attack came days after the second of those firms – David Brown Gear Systems in Huddersfield – had its £2m grant for wind turbine research approved by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. He has admitted frustration at the time it has taken but says legal checks have to be completed.

The fund is a key Government mechanism for creating private sector jobs outside London and the South East, and could eventually see hundreds of thousands of posts saved or created.

But at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, Mr Miliband challenged the Prime Minister saying: “They’ve certainly issued lots of Press releases about the regional growth fund: 22. But how many businesses have been helped in the last 16 months? Two businesses have been helped. Two businesses in 16 months. And how many businesses have gone bankrupt in that time? 16,000.

“What greater example could there be of the way this Government’s plan is not working. We’ve had 18 months of his economic experiment and what’s he got to show for it? More and more people losing their jobs, more and more businesses going bust and inflation going through the roof. And all we’ve got is a Prime Minister who’s hopelessly out of touch.”

However, Colne Valley’s Tory MP Jason McCartney welcomed the funding for David Brown, which is in his constituency, saying it would create 80 new jobs.

“Notwithstanding the moithering and doom-mongering of opposition MPs, there are success stories out there,” he said.