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West Midlands and Coventry

I am grateful for the hon. Lady's contribution. I will come to the broader Jaguar Land Rover issue, because it is crucial for the whole network of engineering and manufacturing in the region. We must be careful to remember where the roots of the problem lie. In 1975, GVA was ahead in the west midlands—above the national average. In the first decade of this century, from 2000 to 2008, the increase in GVA per head in the region was the lowest of any part of the country. In Coventry, the decline is clear. In 2000, we saw GVA per head 10 points above the national average; by the time we get to 2008, it is eight points below, so there are significant challenges. Indeed, the west midlands was the only part of the country where the number of private sector jobs fell between 1998 and 2008, so there are real underlying issues. We are committed to rebalancing the economy; that includes sectors and geography. I turn to the specific areas of activity that I think are relevant. First, local enterprise partnerships are crucial. In the few months that they have been in existence, the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP has established a business mentor network; it is working with the banks to unlock credit at local level in addition to what we are doing at national level, and it has also identified key development and infrastructure opportunities. If I may, I will come to the question of Tollbar End and the development of that site in a moment. I know it is very important. We have put £248,000 into the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP to get it up and running. That is not designed to provide a vast administration. I am not sure that we want a vast administration. We want outcomes. That is why the LEP is getting its funding strategy in place; it is why it is putting in place its evergreen fund and it is why we are making sure that there is a portal in place so that it is actually able to engage with small businesses.