Job Creation: St Helens South and Whiston
(asked on 28th February 2018) - View Source
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support job creation schemes in St Helens South and Whiston constituency; and how much Regional Growth Fund money has been allocated to (a) that constituency and (b) the North West.
The Northern Powerhouse will support delivery of our Industrial Strategy boosting growth across the North including the creation of jobs in the North West ensuring an economy that works for everyone.
We are helping small businesses grow through access to advice on GOV.UK and the Business Support Helpline. We have already invested £12 million in the 38 Growth Hubs in each of the Local Enterprise Partnership areas providing tailored advice to businesses across England. We have announced we will provide a further £24m to continue Growth Hubs for the next 2 years. The Liverpool City Region Growth Hub, which covers St Helens South and Whiston constituency, has supported over 5, 800 businesses and helped 1,500 individuals to start a business.
In February 2017, we launched the £400 million Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund to give small businesses in the North access to finance to help them start-up and grow. 74 investments or loans have been made in the North West totalling over £14m. Four investments have been made in the hon Member's constituency, totalling £270, 000.
The Regional Growth Fund was established to support job creation and economic growth. £1.59m has been allocated to the hon Member's constituency creating or safeguarding 228 jobs. Over £504 million has been allocated to North West
In addition, we have invested over £1.5 billion through the Local Growth Fund in North West projects to boost local economies. We will invest £332m in Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership area creating 15,400 jobs. This will support projects such as St Helens College, Windle Island Improvements and St Helens Town Centre Connectivity in the hon Member's constituency.