answer text |
<p>Growth Deals</p><p>Several accelerator and incubator projects were proposed under
Growth Deals and the details of these and the associated costs are attached in the
annex. Note that Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) have the flexibility to reprioritise
projects based on local needs.</p><p> </p><p>At Budget 2015 the government announced
an additional £11m investment in new tech entrepreneur hubs in Manchester, Leeds and
Sheffield. They will create thriving local ecosystems by nurturing start-ups, fostering
collaboration, and providing mentoring, learning and business support.</p><p> </p><p>University
Enterprise Zones</p><p>The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is
investing £15m capital in a three year pilot (14/15 – 16/17) to establish four University
Enterprise Zones (UEZs) in Bradford, Bristol, Liverpool and Nottingham. Led by Universities,
the UEZs will provide physical space/facilities for small, innovative start-up businesses.
Businesses will also be able to access wraparound business support packages, specialist
facilities and expert knowledge, including support from <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-trade-investment"
target="_blank">UKTI</a> to promote inward investment onto their sites. The Government
investment of £15m will leverage over £47m from private and public sector sources.
The UEZs are focused on sectors of relevance to the areas – digital health, robotics,
sensors and advance manufacturing.</p><p> </p><p>Projects commenced in the second
half of 2014/15 and the majority of the funding will be pulled down in years 15/16
and 16/17. The first centres will open for business in spring 2016.</p><p> </p><p>Profiled
expenditure is in the table below.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>£0.848m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>£7.054m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>£7.499m</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p>Science Park Business Incubator</p><p>The Government is providing £4.8m capital
funding in 2015/16 for a new business incubator on Cambridge Science Park (Cambridge
Science Park Technology Centre). The incubator will support innovative, early stage
companies, primarily in the life sciences sector. This forms part of the Government’s
long term economic plan for the East of England to increase the growth rate, building
on the world class science and technology base of Cambridge and the surrounding area.</p><p>Full
details of current Growth Deals projects can be found in the attached document.</p><p>
</p>
|
|