08 January 2009

Mandelson gives £35m Business Start-Up Programme the green light

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson gave the go-ahead for a new £35m Business Start Up programme for the Northwest, during a visit to the region today.

During a breakfast summit with local business leaders at the Lowry Arts Centre in Salford, Lord Mandelson said:

"This new funding will help entrepreneurs in the north west to get new enterprises off the ground and access the support they need to grow and flourish.

"Nurturing and protecting start ups and young businesses through this downturn will lead us into the upturn that will follow."

Over the past two months Lord Mandelson has set out his vision for a new industrial activism. Speaking today he explained the crucial role that regions will play in this vision and why initiatives like the Business Start Up programme are so important.

Lord Mandelson said:

“The next industrial revolution will, once again, be driven by the regions, just as Britain’s first industrial revolution was.

“We need to train, nurture and support the Richard Arkwrights of the future. It won’t be cotton, but it will be bioscience, or green tech, or precision engineering or creative industries. Industrial activism has to be built on precise regional knowledge of what is needed in terms of infrastructure, investment and training.

“I see the RDAs taking a leading role in this. Indeed I believe it should now be their defining role.” 

The Business Start Up programme will be accessed through Business Link Northwest, the region’s business support gateway. Specialist advisers will provide a comprehensive package of support, advice and training for start-ups and young businesses.

The funding for the programme includes £26.6m from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and £8.4m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) - a total of £35m over 5 years from April 2009.  Local authorities can also add to the programme by coming forward with extra funding.

The targets for the five year support programme are to:
• support 12,700 new businesses; and
• create 22,900 jobs

Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the NWDA, said:

“The Business Start Up programme aims to encourage and support people with a business idea to gain the necessary expertise to put that idea into practice. We are listening to the established businesses in the region and responding to their needs with a package of business support measures but it is also vital for our future growth that we continue to help and encourage business start ups.”

“We are fully aware that it is a tough business climate at the moment, but we have a robust and diverse economy and it is important that in 2009 we are developing a business culture of realistic optimism.”

People should contact Business link on 0845 00 66 888 or through http://www.businesslink.gov.uk
ENDS

Notes to Editors:

This new programme follows on directly from the current Northwest Business Start Up provision, which comes to an end on 31st March 2009. The current programme has been a huge success, helping over 3,000 people to start a business in the Northwest region.

The new programme aims to narrow the productivity gap between the north west and other regions. It has three inter-related aims:
• increase regional economic output by reducing the 91,000 business ‘gap’ in the region, by increasing business start-up and survival rates;
• target the groups (BME, women, over 50s, disabled, social enterprise), areas (Halton, Wirral, Knowsley, Blackpool, Barrow, St Helens and all areas in the region with URC and Housing Market Renewal status), rural areas and other priority areas agreed with partners which under perform in terms of business start-up; and
• deliver on the Government’s commitment to simplifying business support, for start-ups and young businesses in the north west.

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) leads the economic development and regeneration of England’s Northwest and is responsible for:

• Supporting business growth and encouraging investment
• Matching skills provision to employer needs
• Creating the conditions for economic growth
• Connecting the region through effective transport and communication infrastructure
• Promoting the region’s outstanding quality of life

For further information on NWDA’s programme please contact Neil Roscoe, Senior Press Officer on 01925 400232 or mobile 07980 713282 or neil.roscoe@nwda.co.uk.

For urgent out of hours press enquiries please call 01925 400259.

Contact details for the Department for Business Press Office are contained at the foot of this notice.

NW ERDF in summary 2007-13
• Total Northwest ERDF is £521m
• Northwest ERDF (excluding Merseyside) is £308m (Within the NWOP, Merseyside has transitional status and a ring-fenced financial allocation to allow the area to adjust gradually).
• Merseyside ring-fenced ‘phasing-in’ ERDF is £212m (for the period 2007-11)
• Taking account of match funding and the current exchange rate, this provides for total funding of £1bn between 2007-13 (double ERDF total).