South Yorkshire earmarked for emergency help to counter cuts

The Deputy Prime Minister insisted regions heavily dependent on state sector jobs would not be "left high and dry" as the public purse is slashed.

Mr Clegg, whose constituency is in Sheffield, said special measures are being prepared to ease the impact on parts of South Yorkshire, and in London, the North East and the North West.

Initiatives could include job creation schemes, though the emphasis would be on encouraging private companies to expand in the hope they will take on redundant public sector workers, he said.

"I am as aware as anyone else of the dangers of the disproportionate impact on those areas of the country which are very dependent on public sector employment," he added.

"What you will see over the next few weeks and months is a series of measures that we are taking to ensure that, as the black hole is addressed, it's done in a way which is sensitive - much more sensitive than in previous recessions - to the particular need of those parts of the country that are very dependent on the public purse."

Mr Clegg described former Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Laws's sudden departure over his expenses claims as "a tragedy", but added that the crisis had made the coalition stronger.

"The key thing is the Government remains absolutely on track in what we set out to do in our coalition agreement and that is unaffected by the weekend's events.

"If anything, in a strange kind of way, the internal cohesion of a government - of any government, never mind a coalition - is often strengthened by how it reacts to unexpected setbacks and I think that is probably true in this case as well."

Discussing his own relationship with Prime Minister David Cameron, he said: "We speak every day, if not several times a day - it's a very strong working partnership."