The Coalition Government scheme that has already created or safeguarded almost 80,000 of jobs in the North West with £343m worth of investment opened a new round of bids on Thursday of last week. Round four of the Regional Growth Fund will be worth £350m of investment to create jobs and growth across England.

The Regional Growth Fund is an important part of the Liberal Democrat efforts in the Coalition Government to build a stronger economy in a fairer society.

Already the Regional Growth Fund has made a real difference in Lancashire funding  multi-million pound infrastructure projects projects such as rail improvements and new aerospace supply chain centres.

While Labour went on a prawn cocktail offensive in the City of London, they forgot to invest in the rest of Britain. By investing in jobs and growth in Lancashire, Liberal Democrats are rebalancing the economy to end our over-reliance on financial speculators in London and give areas like ours a fair share of investment.

We will be working with businesses across Lancashire and Preston to ensure we get the best out of the Regional Growth Fund and create sustainable jobs now and in the future.

Commenting, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:

“The Regional Growth Fund is already proving a shrewd investment by providing a welcome boost to jobs and growth across the country, with thousands of jobs created and businesses expanding into new markets and manufacturing new products.

“With this next round of funding, I would urge England’s budding businesses to produce top quality bids to access the money that can help them grow.

“There’ll be stiff competition, and we can only invest in those projects that will lead to sustainable jobs and the best value for money. Boosting jobs and growth is our number one priority for Britain right now.

“That is why I am so pleased to be opening a fourth round of the Regional Growth Fund which supports growth across a range of industries.”