A fund set up to encourage research and development in the automotive and aerospace industries has been boosted with a further £100 million from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.
The cash comes on top of £245 million already allocated since 2011 to the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative - of which a large slice has been secured by West Midlands based companies.
Birmingham City Council is responsible for allocating the cash to successful firms throughout the country and the cabinet has now formally accepted the additional £100 million, which will be ploughed into capital equipment, research and development and job creation.
As well as aerospace and automotive industries, the fund can also support firms working in the rail, renewable energy, chemical and nuclear sectors.
Labour cabinet member for jobs, skills and development Coun Tahir Ali (Nechells) said: “We were asked to allocate £245 million on behalf of BIS and that money has been used to create additional jobs and safeguard existing jobs in the advanced manufacturing sector.
“Now we have been asked to approve a further £100 million.”
Although the fund is available to companies throughout the country, a report to cabinet said that of 49 successful applicants, 21 are based in the West Midlands.
The West Midlands has also secured £37 million of the £202 million already committed – in either grants or loans.
Over the period of the AMSCI project, until 2022, it is expected that 11,484 jobs will either be created or protected.
The scheme was wholeheartely welcomed by Tory group leader Lord Michael Whitby (Harborne) who said: “This is tremendous news. This is a significant amount of money being paid into one of the major growth areas of the West Midlands economy.”
He said that speed is of the essence to get maximum benefit from the funding.
“We want this allocated as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
