City Hall and London’s boroughs have welcomed an additional £236m of Government funding to be spent on growing the capital’s economy over the next two years.
The money has been awarded to the London Enterprise Panel, a body through which the Mayor, councils and businesses work together to boost regeneration, jobs and skills.
Committed funds include £55m for further education colleges and other skills providers in the capital, £2m to boost digital skills among young people and £10m to help the unemployed back into work.
Ministers will also allow seven London councils – City of Westminster, Camden, Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Harrow, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest – to borrow more money to build affordable homes.
Mayor Boris Johnson, who chairs the LEP, said: “This funding will be used to help the London Enterprise Panel create new jobs and improve skills across the capital.
“The Panel has brought together all of the capital’s big hitters on regeneration and the economy, and their mission is to focus on using this money to improve infrastructure, skills and science with a goal of ensuring London remains the best place to start a business and to invest.”
The additional cash and increased borrowing limits have also been welcomed by London Councils, the body which represents the capital’s 33 local authorities.
Chair Jules Pipe, said: “London’s councils are central to the task of getting Londoners back into work and equipped with the skills that they need.
“This London Growth Deal is a step on the way to the sort of more devolved and better joined up services that London needs to tackle its future challenges”.
