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£64m transport boost for the South West
Published: 17/03/10
Transport Minister Paul Clark today announced £64m worth of improvements to the transport infrastructures of Bristol and Weston-Super-Mare whilst on a visit to Bristol. The schemes have received initial Government approval enabling both Bristol City and Somerset Councils to move forward with detailed planning.

ONS release data to support Local Economic Assessments
Published: 17/03/10
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have published the first in a series of information tools aimed at helping Local Authority analysts and others in preparing Local Economic Assessments. The Inter Department Business Register (IDBR) 2000-09 Time Series and Industry Breakdowns for Local Authorities (LA) has been released, along with a ‘snapshot’ of LA level information in the IDBR at March 2009. The IDBR release contains business and employment data at national, regional, sub-regional and district level.

BIG delivery day as £41 million reaches England communities
Published: 17/03/10
The Big Lottery Fund has delivered its single biggest wave of community funding with £41m rolling out across England to a total of 143 organisations.

£50m to help councils with economic recovery
Published: 15/03/10
An extra £50 million is being given to councils to help them make big strides toward economic recovery in their local area, announced Communities Secretary John Denham today.

Green light given to £20m transport improvement schemes in South West
Published: 12/03/10
Two vital schemes to regenerate towns in Dorset and Somerset through £20m of transport investment were given the go-ahead today by Transport Minister Sadiq Khan.

£247,000 Flood Protection Grant For Homes In South West Announced Today
Published: 11/03/10
The second round of a £5.5 million grant scheme to help households better protect their homes against flooding was announced today by Environment Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies with £247,000 being awarded in the South West.

Eco-town Cash for Cranbrook
Published: 10/03/10
Housing Minister John Healey has announced that East Devon District Council is to receive a share in a £10 million funding pot to help Cranbrook meet pioneering eco-town standards for sustainable growth.

Bristol City waste incentive scheme proposal received
Published: 10/03/10
A proposal by Bristol City Council to pilot a scheme to reward people for reducing their waste has been received by Defra. Defra will consider the proposal carefully and the impacts on people and the environment before deciding whether it can go ahead.

2 South West councils were recognised at Local Innovation Awards Scheme
Published: 03/03/10
2 South West councils were recognised at the prestigious awards ceremony on the 2 March 2010, at No.11 Downing Street for the Local Innovation Awards Scheme.

South West prosperity depends on transport improvements say MPs
Published: 26/02/10
The South West’s future prosperity hinges on improving its transport infrastructure, MPs have warned in a report from the South West Regional Select Committee.

Accelerating Business Innovation Across the UK
Published: 25/02/10
The Technology Strategy Board have launched Accelerating Business Innovation Across the UK, which sets out how they and their partners in government are working to actively promote innovation and co-ordinate their activities and funding for the benefit of businesses across the UK.

Better Regulation for Business Workshop
Published: 24/02/10
There are still places available at the Better Regulation for Business Workshop taking place in Exeter next Thursday 4 March.

Unitary authorities - Exeter gets the green light and no change for Devon
Published: 10/02/10
Local Government Minister Rosie Winterton today announced the Government's final decisions on unitary proposals for Exeter and Devon.

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.

The Cabinet in the South West
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.

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.

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.

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.

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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