The Mayor of London has welcomed £236m of Government funding that will be used to help create thousands of new jobs in the capital. London’s Enterprise Panel will now be able to activate a series of plans with one common aim – to ensure businesses and Londoners have the skills and opportunities they need to succeed.
Key features of a ‘Growth Deal’ for London confirmed with the Government today (7 July) include:
- A £55m programme of investment in new infrastructure for further education colleges and other skills providers in the capital, with a further £65m also provisionally agreed for 2016/17.
- £2m of funding for a programme to help raise digital skills among young people in London, with a further £3m for 2016/17.
- £70m of funding to be used in partnership with London’s boroughs on projects that will support the London Enterprise Panel’s Jobs and Growth Plan.
- A Government commitment to double the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers from £1500 to £3000 for small to medium sized businesses in London. The decision follows a successful trial in the capital in 2013 that helped 1,000 young people into apprenticeships.
- Up to £10m of European Social Funding for a project in central London that will aim to move those furthest from work into the labour market.
- £1.2m to trial a mental health and employment programme in west London.
The funding set out in today’s Growth Deal is expected to spark a further £121m of investment from local partners and the private sector, and that means the capital should be in line for a programme of investment in new jobs and growth that will total £357m.
The Mayor of London and Chairman of the London Enterprise Panel, Boris Johnson, said: “This funding will be used to help the London Enterprise Panel create new jobs and improve skills across the capital. The Panel has brought together all of the capital’s big hitters on regeneration and the economy, and their mission is to focus on using this money to improve infrastructure, skills and science with a goal of ensuring London remains the best place to start a business and to invest.”
The Government will also increase the Housing Revenue Account borrowing limit to help support the development of new affordable homes by £8.47m for the City of Westminster; £3.20m for the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham; £0.19m for the London Borough of Camden; £3.38m for the London Borough of Hackney; £1.74m for the London Borough of Harrow; £8.22m for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets; and £7.13m for the London Borough of Waltham Forest. And, subject to due diligence, the Government will provide £8.68m of loan funding through the Local Growth Fund to The Croydon Gateway Limited Partnership to accelerate the delivery of 625 homes on the Ruskin Square site in Croydon.
The Chair of London Councils, Mayor Jules Pipe, said: "London's councils are central to the task of getting Londoners back into work and equipped with the skills that they need. This London Growth Deal is a step on the way to the sort of more devolved and better joined up services that London needs to tackle its future challenges”.
The Deputy Chairman of the London Enterprise Panel, Harvey McGrath, said: “I welcome the announcement of the Growth Deal and in particular an unprecedented £55m of funding in 2015/16 for investment in London’s further education sector. It will strengthen our ability to provide the world class skills that will allow Londoners to make our city even more successful”.
It was also confirmed today that the Government will support the Mayor’s plans to build more affordable housing by investing £200m into the Affordable Rent to Buy programme matched by the Greater London Authority and providing £150m to accelerate regeneration of housing estates.