Business Factory to continue its support

20-DEC-11

Issued by: Department for Communities and Local Government

North Tyneside's Business Factory will continue helping hundreds of disadvantaged people in North Tyneside thanks to further European funding.

The European Regional Development Fund Competitiveness Programme 2007-2013, managed by the Department for Communities and Local Government, is investing £900,000 in the project with match funding being provided by North Tyneside Council.

European Regional Development Fund investment of nearly £750,000 was originally awarded to Raising Enterprise North Tyneside two years ago, helping around 1,400 people receive enterprise support in the borough between August 2009 and March 2011.

The aim is to help a further 1,400 people become enterprise ready by November 2014, half of which will come from North Tyneside's deprived wards. The project will also help create 350 new Small and Medium Enterprises of which 45 will be based in disadvantaged areas and create 350 jobs of which 60 will be from disadvantaged areas.

Communities Minister Baroness Hanham CBE, said: "Further investment will ensure that the successful work carried out to date will continue to be built upon in a bid to continue tackling unemployment in North Tyneside. The project already has the advantage of having robust management systems in place. Further European Regional Development Fund investment will deliver real results in term of the numbers of businesses created and supporting these businesses to ensure their survival.

"European investment will help maintain the momentum of the existing programme and offer further and intensive support to people in North Tyneside, continuing to break down barriers while also contributing to closing the gap between the self-employment rate in the borough compared to the national rate."

Further investment will ensure the project continues to meet the increasing demand for pre-start up support with the extended project also focusing on start-up support, ensuring increased business starts and helping newly established Small and Medium Enterprises improve their performance, guaranteeing longer term viability.

The overall aim is to continue stimulating enterprise to the following priority target groups:

• People currently in employment, especially those with skills and resources to start a business and/or those who may be at threat of future job losses
• Those made unemployed through redundancy
• Under-represented groups, in particular budding women entrepreneurs including 'enterprising mums'
• People who live in North Tyneside's disadvantaged areas.

A package of support will target individuals to consider self-employment as a viable option and help those at pre-start up stage to progress further along the enterprise pipeline.

Elected Mayor of North Tyneside, Mrs Linda Arkley said: "As a council we take very seriously the need to grow our own future by encouraging entrepreneurship and generating employment and growth in North Tyneside.

"By supporting our residents through the Business Factory we have been able to introduce more than 300 new businesses into our borough over the last three years.

"They are businesses built on brilliant ideas and a drive and commitment to make a difference. Importantly, as they establish and grow they have the potential to support innovation, drive our economy and create jobs for our residents. That's great news for them, but also for North Tyneside.

"Therefore, I am delighted that we can continue this programme over the next two years to develop the Business Factory success story even further."

The European Regional Development Fund 2007-13 programme is bringing over £300m into North East England to support innovation, enterprise and business support. It will help create and safeguard 28,000 new jobs, start 3,000 new businesses and increase the region's productivity by £1.1bn per annum.
 

Related links

• The Business Factory