LOCAL ENTERPRISE GROWTH INITIATIVE BID BLACK COUNTRY INSPIRED

That this House welcomes the `Black Country Inspired' Local Enterprise Growth Initiative produced by the four Black Country boroughs and their private and voluntary sector partners to increase the total entrepreneurial activity among the population in deprived areas, support sustainable growth, reduce the failure rate of locally owned businesses in deprived areas and attract appropriate investment and franchising into deprived areas, making use of local labour resources; believes its proposals are realistic, deliverable and exciting, will strengthen entrepreneurial passion in the birthplace of the industrial revolution through the creation of 10,000 new businesses over the next 10 years and help the region develop the highly skilled, well paid knowledge economy where both service and high value-added manufacturing companies are competing successfully in the global economy by creating an extra 780 new VAT registrations each year and boosting productivity by £1 billion; and urges the Department for Communities and the Regions to support the bid.