Yorkshire in line for slice of £1bn fund for growth

CITY leaders in Sheffield and Leeds have been urged to grab a slice of an extra £1bn being pumped into boosting the private sector in English regions.

Ministers want the eight English “core cities” – which include the two in Yorkshire – to take advantage of the extra money going into the flagship Regional Growth Fund, which is designed to help to tackle the North-South divide.

They are being encouraged to submit innovative packages of projects for support from the fund, which part-funds projects creating or saving private sector jobs and whose chairman Lord Heseltine has been asked to give “additional focus” to them.

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Officials insist the call does not mean they will get extra money at the expense of other parts of the region, but Ministers believe the core cities could be the key to securing economic recovery.

The first £1.4bn from the fund has already been allocated – with more than 20 projects in Yorkshire promised cash which could help to save or create 10,000 jobs – but Chancellor George Osborne pledged a further £1bn in last week’s Autumn Statement, allowing at least two more rounds of bidding. The next round will open in February.

Mr Clegg said: “Creating long-term jobs and long-term growth is our number one priority for Britain.”

But Labour has criticised the length of time it is taking to hand over money. Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna said: “Only a quarter of the 50 successful bidders under round one of the Regional Growth Fund have received their money, and just one of those is located in Yorkshire.

“We need leadership and urgency from Ministers, but instead we have seen dither, delay and uncertainty.”