Proposals for twenty-four local enterprise partnerships were given the green light by Government today, in a landmark move that will see local business and civic leaders working together to drive sustainable economic growth and create new jobs in their communities.

Ministers announced the first wave of successful partnerships today as part of a new plan for local economic growth, which sets out the Government’s role in empowering locally driven growth, encouraging business investment and promoting economic development.

Ministers also declared the £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund open for business.

The fund will support the creation of private sector jobs and will particularly support communities currently dependent on the public sector, helping them make the transition to private sector led growth and prosperity.

The announcements form part of a White Paper on Local Growth published today, which sets out the Government’s new approach to rebalance the economy and drive sustainable growth by focusing on three key themes:

· Shifting power to local communities and businesses - by establishing dynamic local enterprise partnerships of local business and civic leaders, operating within an area that makes economic sense, which can provide the vision, knowledge and strategic leadership to set local priorities and empower communities to fulfil their potential.

· Increasing confidence to invest – by creating the right conditions for growth through a consistent and efficient framework for investment, an effective planning framework and new incentives to make sure local communities benefit from development.

·Focused investment – by tackling barriers to growth that the market will not address itself and supporting investment that will have a long term impact on growth.

Business Secretary, Vince Cable said:

“I was delighted that so many of the proposals for local enterprise partnerships showed real imagination and initiative and a genuine desire to drive local economic growth. I am pleased to announce that we are asking 24 of these partnerships to set up their boards and get to work.

“The knowledge and expertise of the private sector, local authorities and their local communities will be crucial as we work to create a better environment for business and ensure that everyone has access to the opportunities that growth brings.

“The measures set out in today’s White Paper demonstrate the Coalition’s ambition to create a fairer and more balanced economy – one that is driven by private sector growth with business opportunities spread more evenly across the country and between industries.”