Written question asked by Esther McVey (Conservative) on Tuesday, 24 May 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 7 June 2011. It was answered by Lord Willetts (Conservative) on Wednesday, 8 June 2011 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Knowledge Economy: Liverpool

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to encourage the growth of the knowledge economy in the Liverpool city region.

Answer: The Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has identified the knowledge economy as one of its four key priorities. A plan to accelerate key areas of the economy has been devised by the City Region's Knowledge Economy Group, comprising representatives from The Mersey Partnership, the university of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores university, Liverpool Vision and some of the City Region's key knowledge based businesses. Proposals in the plan could secure an additional 58,000 jobs and in excess of £217 million added GVA for the region's knowledge economy by 2022.The LEP has received £45,000 from the BIS LEP Capacity Fund, to help local partners better understand their business environment and to identify the actions they need to take to drive their priorities forward.A project to stimulate small and medium enterprises (SMEs) growth in Liverpool through media advocacy has been awarded to the Liverpool Echo from the Regional Growth Fund. This will result in grants of between £10,000 and £100,000 to SMEs (including those in the Knowledge Economy) together with mentoring and coaching.

Secondary information