THE North-East could be in line for more than £1m of Government funding for organisations designed to help businesses grow.

Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) will get about £125,000 each before the end of this financial year, and could also receive up to £500,000 Government funding across the subsequent two years, if they can persuade a private, public or third sector organisation to match-fund the figure.

This year, all 39 LEPs will get an equal share of £5m – about £128,000 for each LEP – while next year and the year after, they will be able to bid for up to £250,000 a year, provided it is match-funded.

The total fund available over the three years amounts to £24m and could see another £20m being put into LEPs by other organisations.

Business and Enterprise Minister Michael Fallon said: “This funding will help LEPs plan for the long term and ensure they can remain locallyled instead of dependent on central government support.

“We need to ensure LEPs remain voluntary business and civic partnerships so they are in the best possible position to deliver sustainable growth and job creation in their areas.”

Linda Edworthy, Tees Valley Unlimited’s director of policy and strategy, said: “We welcome the acknowledgement that local enterprise partnerships need reasonable resources to help drive forward our growth priorities on both a national and local level.

“This allocation of core funding will go towards helping Tees Valley Unlimited realise its LEP ambitions and support the delivery of our key objectives that aim to create a healthy and robust economy for the Tees Valley.”