News

Visit to City Tower

My first engagement as Regional Minister was on 26 June when I met Government Office North West Staff from Liverpool and Manchester and was given the opportunity to talk about my background and assure them of my complete commitment to both the North West and the Regional Minister job. 

Building Britain's Future

The launch of Building Britain's future on 29th June highlighted the government's priorities for preparing the country for the upturn.  One of its main themes is Backing Young Britain which aims to help every young person to find a job, training or work skills and experience - not just as a response to the recession but an investment in our future as we build a stronger Britain. On the 2nd September, the Government and employers announced they are pledging an extra 85,000 opportunities for young people today. These range from Morrisons pledging new training for every one of its 36,000 employees under the age of 25, to Government providing help to get 45,000 young people into jobs in retail, tourism, leisure and hospitality and over 150 top British employers threw their weight behind Backing Young Britain. There are also 5,000 new opportunities, including apprenticeships from companies including Centrica, Carillion and Royal Mail.  Other employers backing the campaign, and pledging support include Microsoft, Bovis Lendlease, Pfizer and Phones4U.  

And here in the NW. we are punching above our weight in getting jobs and investment from the government. 

• The Future Jobs Fund: the North West submitted the highest number of bids in the country outside of London and as a result it will generate the greatest number of job opportunities for young people between 18-24 who have been out of work for a year. It will mean 9268 jobs (4,780 in the first six months), plus a further 1439 from successful national bids. The job opportunities offer a wide choice of activity and working environments from community based jobs to working in conservation and furniture restoration to new community technology.   The bidding rounds for the next few months have now been set, and if you would like more information on bidding for the jobs through the fund, please click here: http://campaigns.dwp.gov.uk/campaigns/futurejobsfund/index.asp
• £100m  Electrification of the Liverpool-Manchester railway (the route via Newton le Willows) - this will cut the journey time between these two great cities by a third (from 45 to 30 minutes)
• £17.1m for the Hall Lane strategic gateway in Liverpool  - removing the bottleneck at Hall Lane will transform this important route between the M62 and the city centre
• £9.06m for three sustainable transport schemes through the Community Infrastructure Fund out of a £30m allocation from the Department for Communities and Local Government
• £162m for the Carlisle Northern Development route - work starts in October on the 8.25km (5.13 mile) single carriageway bypass from the A595 at Newby West to junction 44 on the M6. This will improve links between west Cumbria, Scotland and the north-east of England
• 4 NW colleges appeared on the Learning and Skills Council's shortlist of 13 for projects given the green light (West Cheshire, Furness, Manchester -Wythenshawe and St Helens). Since that announcement, Skelmersdale and Ormskirk College has been added to the list, making 5 projects out of 14.

NHS announced funding for 585 apprentices, 240 of which will be clinical.

On 27 July, Andy Burnham was at Liverpool's St Georges Hall  to discuss the issues in Building Britain's Future and answering questions about the North West's road to economic recovery. He also asked them how  they thought the Government should tackle the other big issues facing the region and the country - including climate change, economy and jobs,  education and skills, affordable housing, and health. It was one of a series of events being held across the country organised by Government Offices. Andy Burnham has fed back the results of the discussions that took place to the Cabinet.

On the 26 August, Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, visited Blackpool Pleasure Beach  where he hosted a public question and answer session on Government policies, including crime, the economy, housing and Afghanistan.  Bob Ainsworth also visited the Build Up scheme in Princess Street, Blackpool, which is training people in construction skills in association with Blackpool and the Fylde College. He said; "This is the hard end of getting people into work. One of the lads I spoke to hadn't worked for 15 years. When you feel alienated from the employment market, it is important doors are still opened."

Regional Select Committee

On the 8th July, Phil Woolas appeared before the Regional Select Committee in the House of Commons, alongside Government Office North West Director Liz Meek, to answer questions on "The impact of the current economic situation on the North West and the Government's Response". There are five MPs from the North West on the Committee - David Crausby, Eric Martlew, Tony Lloyd, Rosie Cooper and Geraldine Smith.  The questions covered a wide range of topics including jobs, apprentices, prompt payment,, the work of the Joint Economic Commission and the Learning and Skills Council. The Select Committee's Report was published on the 31st July.

The Government's response to the Report is to be published shortly. Looking ahead, the Grand Committee meeting for the North West is to be held in Liverpool Town Hall at 2pm on 22nd October - the subject is Building Britain's Future: The North West's Response to the Economic Downturn.  The Grand Committees are public events and everyone is welcome to attend.  

European Funding

The Regional Minister launched  "eu&Merseyside", a brochure celebrating the achievements of the last 14 years of European investment in the area. Objective One funding has not only transformed the landscape across Merseyside, it has transformed the lives of around one third of a million people who have been given a leg up in their future careers through training It has put the Liverpool City Region in a good place to help the region out of recession. The launch took place in the newly opened Ferry Terminal and on a glorious sunny morning the views from there were spectacular.

Joint Economic Commission

The July meeting of the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) was held  in Cunard Buildings, Liverpool and was also the first meeting I attended as Regional Minister.  I also met with regional representatives of the major banks.

The JEC has been in operation since November 2008 and has achieved much in that time - for example it helped broker the deals on Hall Lane and the Carlisle Northern Development Route and is now focussing on preparing for the upturn. It has also been instrumental in helping the region get the lion's share of the recent housing go-ahead through Kick-Start. The JEC has identified four key economic opportunities for our region:

• The Atlantic Gateway 
• Cumbria Energy Coast/renewable energy
• Infrastructure (including transport)  and
• Creative/digital industries

The issue of prompt payments remains of concern to businesses and, since the last meeting, the NWDA has announced a transitional venture capital and loan fund for businesses in the region of £15m and the government announced additional Trade Credit Insurance for those businesses suffering a reduction in cover since October 2008. Robert Hough and I are urging local businesses in the Northwest to pay fair and sign up to the Government's Prompt Payment Code. A number of local companies have already signed  up to the Code, which commits them to pay their suppliers promptly as set out in their contractual agreements regional business signatories include AstraZeneca, the Guardian Media Group and BASF (Stockport). Further signatories to the Code include all central Government departments and all nine RDAs.  We have written to local councils, health bodies, public sector bodies and business groups in the region asking them to show their commitment to paying their supplier on time by signing the Code. Local authorities and health bodies in the region that have already signed the code include: Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Salford City Council.  The importance of cash flow to all businesses, especially small businesses is clear in the current climate. Most small companies say that they have already been affected in some way by the economic downturn. The success of small and medium sized businesses is vital for the prosperity of the region and these businesses need access to cash flow. I am encouraged that Government in the North West is building on its commitment to pay firms within 10 days by working with NHS trusts in England, local authorities and other public sector employers across the region to seek opportunities to extend the payment target. We want everyone in the public sector to pay their bills, especially to small businesses, more quickly.

A substantial number of businesses are being actively supported through the downturn - many through Business Link - and are being helped to restructure, maintain their business or in some cases grow. Jaguar LandRover announced 300 job losses at the end of the year and there is still some uncertainty about the future of Vauxhalls at Ellesmere Port, although Vauxhalls are still on course to introduce a new model.  I was pleased to welcome Robert Hough to the meeting whose appointment as the new Chair of the North West Development Agency was recently announced. Robert took up his post on the 17 August and I am sure that he will prove to play a key role in the JEC as well as at the NWDA,  (do we need to say something about Brian Gray?)  There is still much to do, but I am confident that the JEC is the right forum to be a key driver in responding to the economic downturn in the region but I urge businesses and other organisations to support its work by helping young people during this difficult time in at least one of the following ways:

• bid for one of the 100,000 jobs for young people from the Future Jobs Fund  (link to website)
• offer a volunteering place or a volunteer mentor for school or university leavers
• provide work experience places for young people 
• consider a young person for a job through a work trial
• offer an internship for a graduate
• provide an apprenticeship for a 16 to 24-year-old
• join a Local Employment Partnership to make sure job vacancies are advertised to local unemployed people

Meeting with Regional Bankers

Following the JEC, I met with regional representatives of six of the major banks to discuss how access to, and the cost of, finance could be improved for businesses. It was a fruitful meeting and I was surprised when they admitted that the cost of borrowing compared to historically-low 0.5% interest rates "is high". I was told that a lot of loan applications from business they were rejecting had unviable future plans., and that  the reason for many rejections was that decisions were being made on national policies rather than on a local manager's judgments.  The key message that I left with them was that with interest rates so low, investment in manufacturing and commerce is more attractive and they should be putting money into firms which make and sell things. I will be keeping up the pressure to ensure that NW businesses and entrepreneurs are fairly treated and we don’t lose out on the pioneering spirit which has played such an important part in this region’s prosperity over the years.

Hall Lane Strategic Gateway

In July the last link in the chain to link Liverpool city centre to the M62 was forged when the £18.7m scheme to help regenerate Liverpool was given the go-ahead.  The Government is investing up to £17.1m in the Hall Lane Strategic Gateway improvements to deliver an economy-boosting, east-west highway into the city of Liverpool from the M62, connecting Merseyside to Cheshire and Greater Manchester. The barriers to improving the most important route between the M62 and Liverpool city centre have been removed and work can begin on the Hall Lane Strategic Gateway - main construction work is due to commence in October 2009, with the scheme expected to be completed by July 2011.  The new road will remove a notorious bottleneck, helping to attract business, visitors and investment to Liverpool. The replacement of the current complicated route, some of which runs through minor streets, with a purpose-built highway will improve the lives of residents by taking traffic away from communities. This is the latest piece of the jigsaw in building a world class city, and will help attract both visitors and business.

Future Jobs Fund

We know that people of all ages are being hit by the recession, but it is young people who can be most at risk and that's where Backing Young Britain can really make a difference.  In July, the Government announced the first round in the Future Jobs Fund and once again the North West punched above its weight and up to 9,200 new jobs will be created as a result. These jobs will give the long term unemployed, particularly young people the experience and confidence that will help them find long term employment. We are committed to tackling youth unemployment and preventing a generation of young people being lost to work by working with businesses to harness the skills and talents of young people. Overall, the Future Jobs Fund has created up to 47,000 new jobs nearly a third of the 150,000 jobs that the fund will create. The Future Jobs Fund will continue to create more jobs and the Government' campaign - Backing Young Britain - is a call to action for employers, encouraging them to support the recruitment and training of young people and creating jobs and opportunities for them. Everyone has a part to play in helping young people onto the first rung of the career ladder in the North West. It includes:

Commission for the New Economy (Manchester City Region) to create 8000 jobs over 18 months (1547 in the first 6 months from October ) for LTU 18-24 and in hotspots doing a range of roles across the city region;

Pennine Lancashire (Lancs based MAA) to create 725 jobs (approximately 250 in first 6 months) for LTU 18-24

Cheshire West and Chester Council (partnering Cheshire East and Warrington) to create 750 jobs over 18 months (346 in the first 6 months) for LTU 18-24

Liverpool City Region to create 6155 jobs over 18 months (2570 over the first 6 months) for LTU 18-Pentra Services Ltd to create 90 jobs over 18 months (30 in the first 6 months), 60 for LTU 18-24 and 30 for those from Wirral hotspots in the IT and transport sectors

The next round was announced recently and will mean up to 200 jobs worth £1.3m in Blackpool and the Fylde Coast.