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Over £60m cash to lay the foundations of Eco Towns
Published: 08/02/10
Housing Minister John Healey has today backed the country's biggest ever green home building programme, with St Austell in Cornwall receiving a share of £60m to build affordable new homes to the toughest ever environmental standards.

Cabinet Office in Exeter
Published: 08/02/10
The Cabinet met in the South West on Friday, 5 February in what was the latest in a series of Cabinet meetings to be held outside of London. Cabinet Ministers took the opportunity to visit sites around the region before meeting at Exeter Racecourse for round-table discussions with members of the public. The public engagement event was followed by a question and answer session hosted by Jim Knight MP, the Minister for the South West.

Local Carbon Frameworks pilots named
Published: 08/02/10
Communities Secretary John Denham has approved nine pilot programmes aimed at exploring ways to reduce carbon emissions. The South West has three of the nine pilots announced.

Two South West Communities are amongst UK low carbon winners
Published: 04/02/10
Two communities from the South West are today celebrating after winning up to £500,000 each to help install new green technologies such as solar panels, hydro turbines and energy saving insulation.

Only 3 weeks left to have your say on nuclear sites
Published: 03/02/10
Residents of Oldbury are this weekend being asked to have their say on whether Oldbury in South Gloucestershire, should be a potential site for a new nuclear power station. It has been listed by Government in its draft Nuclear National Policy Statement published on 9 November 2009.

MPs hear evidence on Prospects for the South West Economy
Published: 29/01/10
MPs on the South West Select Committee will launch their inquiry into the Prospects for the South West Economy with a public hearing at the House of Commons on Tuesday 2nd February.

South West apprenticeship success
Published: 28/01/10
GOSW has mapped LA apprenticeships in the SW region and established good working relationships with the SW NAS (National Apprenticeships Service) colleagues.

Local community buildings will be transformed through Government grants
Published: 25/01/10
Community buildings in the South West will be transformed through a Government grant.

Prospects for South West economy
Published: 11/01/10
MPs on the South West Select Committee have announced a short follow-up inquiry to their work on the impact of the economic downturn on the south west and the government's response.

Cold weather – health and travel advice
Published: 08/01/10
With temperatures falling below zero degrees Celsius in some areas, make sure you know how to keep safe and warm during the severe weather.

South West European Social Fund (ESF) Awards 2010
Published: 18/12/09
Nominations are invited for the South West European Social Fund (ESF) Awards 2010 ceremony taking place at the Rougemont Hotel in Exeter on 18 March 2010.

Powering the Future
Published: 18/12/09
Jim Knight, South West Regional Minister, visited the West of England yesterday, Thursday 17 December, to learn more about the region’s plans for leading the way in renewable energy. During the visit, which included a tour of Bristol Port, the Minister saw five sites for each of the five shortlisted Severn Tidal Power Schemes.

Weymouth get a world class place of their own
Published: 18/12/09
Young people in Weymouth and Portland are buzzing with excitement after receiving an early Christmas present of a £3 million grant towards a world-class centre under the Government’s myplace programme.

Kickstart cash boost to get as many as 12,000 workers and apprentices back on site
Published: 16/12/09
Housing Minister John Healey today announced a further 265 stalled housing developments shortlisted for a share of up to £550 million to help get building work on over 22,400 homes back on track and support up to 12,000 jobs – including 1,000 apprentices.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published 'Partnerships for Growth' on 10 December.
Published: 16/12/09
Partnerships for Growth has been published by the Government to set out its priorities for economic development and how it sees partners at national, regional, sub-regional and local levels working together to support delivery. It builds on the New Industry, New Jobs strategy published in April this year. Please see the attached document for further details.

Pre-Budget Report 2009 for the South West
Published: 10/12/09
The Pre-Budget Report was announced yesterday (9 December 2009) by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alastair Darling. The Government’s objective is to build a strong economy and a fair society, where there is opportunity and security for all.

Growing the Devon and the South West digital economy
Published: 07/12/09
Superfast broadband will bring an array of social, economic and health benefits to consumers and businesses across Devon and the South West, said Stephen Timms, Digital Britain Minister.

Training for success in the South West
Published: 04/12/09
South West Minister Jim Knight visited the region on Thursday 3 December to see how training is helping the region on the road to recovery.

New Board Members Recruited to the South West RDA
Published: 30/11/09
The new Board Members joining the South West RDA were announced today, Monday 30 November 2009.

It's your home - lets keep it that way
Published: 12/11/09
A major new report published today by Government Office South West and South West Councils has concluded that homeowners in this region must make more use of local level prevention services to stop them losing their homes.

Community Innovation Policy Consultation
Published: 30/10/09
The EU have recently launched a consultation on Community Innovation Policy as a result of a their assessment of the achievements and shortcomings in implementing Community policies.

Regional Minister completes his tour of the South West
Published: 27/10/09
Regional Minister Jim Knight has completed his week long tour of the South West which began in Bournemouth and continued to Gloucester, Plymouth, Cornwall before finishing on the Isles of Scilly.

Businesses given free access to thousands of new opportunities
Published: 11/08/09
Every small business in the UK now has free access to thousands of lower value government contracts on the Government’s website supply2.gov.uk

New Regional Minister visits South West
Published: 19/06/09
Jim Knight MP visited the region on 18 June in his first official visit as Regional Minister for the South West.

Building Britain’s Future
Published: 22/04/09
The Government’s strategic vision 'Building Britain's Future - New Industry, New Jobs' was launched on Monday 20 April.

'Solutions for business' simplifies government business support, reducing over 3,000 schemes to 30
Published: 30/03/09
The Government today delivered on its promise to provide a simplified framework for publicly funded support, which could add £1.4bn of value per year for businesses.

UPDATE - Draft Proposed Changes - Regional Spatial Strategy
Published: 24/03/09
The Secretary of State intends to issue the final Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) at the end of June 2009.

South West passengers to benefit from huge investment in trains
Published: 12/02/09
Passengers in the South West are to benefit from the single biggest investment in Intercity trains for a generation, Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon announced today.

Citizenship survey - citizens feel a strong sense of belonging
Published: 30/01/09


Real Help for Business
Published: 14/01/09
Business Secretary Lord Mandleson unveiled a package of help for small and medium sized enterprises in the UK on 14 January.

Brown Uses New School to Highlight Spending Programme
Published: 12/01/09
Gordon Brown has visited a new-built secondary school to highlight the massive public spending programme which he hopes will help Britain beat recession.

The Right Track for the Winter Timetable
Published: 08/12/08
Over 20,000 trains will be running across the rail network every day when longer, faster trains are introduced under a new winter timetable specified by the Department for Transport, Transport Minister Andrew Adonis announced today.

Advertisement for Chairman of South West Food & Drink
Published: 05/11/08
A Chairman is sought for the Board of South West Food & Drink, an organisation that gives strategic support to the Food and Drink industry in the South West, advising the Regional Development Agency and other regional bodies on expenditure priorities.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith visits Henbury in Bristol for 'Not in My Neighbourhood Week'.
Published: 27/10/08
On October 13 the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith visited Henbury in Bristol, marking the beginning of 'Not in My Neighbourhood Week'. The visit showcased how people and agencies work together to cut crime and anti-social behaviour in their communities.

South West's Climate Change Champion takes to the seas to learn about global warming
Published: 30/09/08
South West Climate Change Champion, 15-year-old Shirley Halse, joined world leading scientists and researchers at Plymouth Marine Laboratory to investigate the possible effects of climate change on our seas.

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