Question

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much Local Growth Fund finance has been requested within all local enterprise partnerships' strategic economic plans; what estimate he has made of private investment that will be leveraged through strategic economic plans; and what estimate he has made of European match-funding.

Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) have shown a high level of ambition in their proposals, and the Local Growth Fund (LGF) is between 3-4 times over-subscribed. The amount of private sector leverage put forward varies by LEP and by project, and this is part of the current discussions with LEPs.

In addition to the competitive element, the Local Growth Fund contains £170m of resource funding to match against skills and employability activity supported by EU Structural Investment Funds. The amount of LGF match made available will depend on EU funding allocation agreed with each LEP.