£2.7 million jobs boost for Wakefield

Simon Hughes, Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties, has today (16 October 2014) visited Harvard Engineering to see progress first-hand of the company’s £22 million expansion project at its site in Wakefield.

Harvard Engineering – which designs and manufactures lighting products – was awarded £2.7 million through the government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF). The investment is enabling the business to bring 306 new jobs to Wakefield in a four year period from October 2013 and has safeguarded a further 50 jobs.

The Minister today toured the company to see how the cash from the RGF is helping to boost jobs and growth across the region with a new centre that will increase their design and manufacturing capacity.

Mr Hughes said:

The Regional Growth Fund is a helping hand from government to create thousands of jobs that last, boost the private sector and re-balance the economy.

I am thrilled to see that the people of Wakefield are to benefit. Companies like Harvard Engineering and the people who work there are helping us to build a stronger economy and a fairer society for this generation and the next.

Through the RGF companies commit to creating jobs and investing in their regional economy in return for government funding. So far £280 million of RGF money has been invested in businesses across Yorkshire and Humberside, helping to create 63,000 new jobs as companies have committed to investing an additional £1.7 billion.

Across the country the RGF has funded private sector projects which will create 573,000 jobs, with the government committing to invest a total of £3.2billion nationally, attracting £16 billion of investment from business and industry.

The latest round of bids – Round 6 – guarantees at least a further £200 million of funding nationwide that will create thousands of jobs and further fuel our recovery. This round has seen 174 bids across the country totalling over £800 million – with 14 bids totalling £68 million across Yorkshire and Humberside.

Ministers are visiting companies around the country today following a meeting of the Local Growth Committee chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg this morning.

Notes to editors

The government’s Regional Growth Fund is a £3.2 billion fund designed to help companies in England to grow. So far £2.9 billion has been allocated to support projects and programmes committed to deliver sustainable jobs and economic growth. For more information, please go to RGF page.