Business Minister Mark Prisk said:

“It’s important we give local enterprise partnerships, such as the Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly partnership, as much support as we can as they set themselves up and identify what their priorities are.

“The start up fund will allow them to pay for things such as training for the board members, as well as support their work engaging with the wider business community. In some cases, the partnerships have come up with some really innovative ways of using this money.

“This financial support will help the partnerships move up a gear. I’ve heard today about the plans for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and I’m looking forward to hearing about how further LEPs translate the ideas we’ve seen into real action to help businesses in their area and unlock growth.”

The start up fund is a one off pot of money for 2011-12. As part of each partnership’s bid, they had to demonstrate how they would become self-sustaining in the future.