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This page gives you access to the latest Government news that may affect those living in, working in, or visiting Yorkshire and The Humber.

Yorkshire & Humber authorities receive flood protection grants
Published: 25/06/09
Leeds, Doncaster, Wakefield and East Riding Councils will receive personal flood protection funding for households through new grants announced by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn today.

Dalby Forest wins mountain bike world cup!
Published: 24/06/09
The world’s top mountain bikers are to be put through their paces amid the trees and trails of the Forestry Commission estate at Dalby Forest in 2010 when the World Mountain Bike Championships ride into North Yorkshire.

Yorkshire and Humberside receives £3.85m to help tackle youth crime
Published: 09/06/09
Tackling youth crime in Yorkshire and Humberside has received a vital boost after being handed £3.85m to help clear-up antisocial behaviour, make schools and communities safer and provide support for young people and families who want to turn their lives around.

£0.4m to help Leeds manage highways
Published: 14/05/09
An extra £0.4m will be awarded to Leeds City Council to help them manage their roads, bridges and other highways assets, Transport Minister Paul Clark announced yesterday.

Low carbon businesses opportunities for Yorkshire
Published: 29/04/09
Rosie Winterton MP, Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber,yesterday delivered the keynote speech at the Low Carbon Economy regional summit, in which she laid out the Government's Low Carbon vision and spoke about how Government would help businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber make the most of the opportunities a shift to a low carbon economy will present.

Government brings real help for Yorkshire and the Humber charities
Published: 23/04/09
Charities and voluntary groups from across Yorkshire and the Humber came together in Bradford this week to discuss what more they can do to help local communities through the economic downturn.

Lloyds Banking Group - Statement from Regional Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber
Published: 17/04/09
A series of meetings have been held in Halifax over the past two days involving the Lloyds Banking Group, Regional Minister Rosie Winterton MP, Deputy Regional Minister Jeff Ennis MP, representatives of Yorkshire Forward, local authority leaders, MPs and business representatives, to present the case for retaining a strong Lloyds Banking Group presence in the Yorkshire and Humber Region.

Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Committee The Work of Yorkshire Forward - Call for Evidence
Published: 03/04/09
The Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Committee of the House of Commons is seeking written evidence for its first inquiry on the Work of Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency.

Best feet forward as Yorkshire & Humber pupils say goodbye to the school run
Published: 19/03/09
Primary school children across Yorkshire and the Humber are swapping their parents' cars for the pavement in return for a share of £1.8m of Government money. 430 schools in the region have been awarded up to £1,000 to encourage pupils to walk to school, helping them to keep fit and reducing the number of journeys made by car.

North Yorkshire to receive funding for flood protection project
Published: 19/03/09
A project in North Yorkshire has received a £247,000 share of £1 million from Defra to demonstrate how natural resources can help protect against flooding.

Payments for parents roadshow comes to Doncaster
Published: 11/03/09
Doncaster mums and dads, and parents-to-be, can find out more about help available to them when the Payments for Parents roadshow rolls into town on Wednesday 18 March.

Payments for parents roadshow comes to Sheffield
Published: 10/03/09
Sheffield mums and dads, and parents-to-be, can find out more about help available to them when the Payments for Parents roadshow rolls into town on Tuesday 17 March.

Yorkshire & Humber businesses help build low carbon Britain
Published: 10/03/09
A new industrial activism was recently placed at the heart of the government's emerging Low Carbon Industrial Strategy as new figures showed the UK green goods and services sector is already the sixth biggest in the world.

More than £63m funding announced for housing regeneration programmes in Yorkshire & Humber
Published: 10/03/09
Housing Minister Iain Wright today confirmed that almost £63.5m will be made available in the next financial year through the Homes and Communities Agency to help regenerate local housing markets and restore confidence in communities in Hull and East Riding, South Yorkshire and Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

Gongs for four award winning Yorkshire councils
Published: 05/03/09
A week on from the Oscars, 56 innovative councils in England have collected their own set of gongs for their performance. Among them were Sheffield, Rotherham, Wakefield and Bradford.

Number of people completing apprenticeships rockets in Yorkshire and the Humber
Published: 26/02/09
The number of apprentices qualifying in Yorkshire and the Humber has more than doubled in just four years, figures show today. A total of 15,380 people completed an apprenticeship in 2007/08, compared to just 6,530 in 2003/04, an increase of 135 per cent or 9,000 more apprentices.

£10m boost to council coffers in Yorkshire & the Humber as they help communities through the credit crunch
Published: 26/02/09
Local Government Minister John Healey has confirmed that all 22 councils will receive their share of £10million within the next few days, to be used as they see fit, to help meet local needs and priorities - particularly helpful in this difficult economic climate.

Rapid redundancy support service to be strengthened - says Regional Minister Rosie Winterton
Published: 11/02/09
A rapid response service for redundancies is to be expanded to bring immediate benefits to any individual losing their job after a Jobcentre Plus proposal got the backing of Regional Minister Rosie Winterton and the top-level Economic Delivery Group.

Government launches real help for the third sector
Published: 09/02/09
The Government today pledged £42.5 million to help volunteers, charities and social enterprises deliver extra real help to those that need it most during the global economic downturn.

Regional Minister calls for streamlined action plan to focus on job losses in Yorkshire & the Humber
Published: 14/01/09
A comprehensive action plan to deal swiftly with job losses in Yorkshire & the Humber and to get people back to work as soon as possible is to be drawn up for Regional Minister Rosie Winterton. The move comes in the wake of a £0.5 billion package of aid for jobseekers announced by the Prime Minister on Monday.

Celebrate your tree-mendous achievements!
Published: 09/01/09
Woodland projects in Yorkshire and the Humber are being invited to step into the limelight and prove they are top of the tree.

Make 'Business Health Check' a New Year's resolution
Published: 07/01/09
Firms are being urged to start the New Year with a "business MOT" to ensure they're in good shape to ride out the current economic downturn.

Jobs and skills top of regional agenda
Published: 06/01/09
Employment and skills were top of the agenda when the Prime Minister met leading business and regional figures at the Regional Economic Council on Monday 5 January.

Businesses in Yorkshire and Humber saving £140 million in cuts in red tape
Published: 12/12/08
Businesses in Yorkshire and Humber are saving an estimated £140 million a year in time and money, according to the latest progress report from the Government's programme to cut red tape.

£16m for South Yorkshire, Doncaster and Leeds local authorities with plans for housing growth
Published: 12/12/08
Housing Minister Margaret Beckett has announced that two areas in Yorkshire will share more than £16m to help deliver their long-term plans to increase house building to meet the needs of their communities.

Tackling Drugs Changing Lives awards
Published: 08/12/08
Members of a Bradford drug service user representatives forum will be on their way to a prestigious ceremony in London on Wednesday (10 December) to find out if they have won the national Tackling Drugs, Changing Lives Award.

Millions across england to enjoy free swimming
Published: 08/12/08
More than twenty million people aged 16 and under and over 60 will be able to swim for free from next April as Culture Secretary Andy Burnham today announced that 82 per cent of local authorities in England have signed up to take part in a £140 million Government scheme.

Yorkshire Forward Board Appointments
Published: 26/11/08
Top Appointments bring Fresh Experience to the Board of Yorkshire Forward. Pat McFadden, Minister of State for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs, today announced four new appointments to the Board of Yorkshire Forward.

Two Yorkshire councils to 'fast track' mortgage rescue scheme
Published: 25/11/08
A cross-government package of new measures and reforms to provide real help to Yorkshire and the Humber families at risk of repossession was today announced by the Chancellor Alistair Darling in the Pre-Budget Report.

Bradford and Wakefield councils to offer homes and jobs advice
Published: 21/11/08
Bradford and Wakefield are among 60 councils to benefit from increased funding to boost their housing and employment advice options for local residents, announced Communities Minister Iain Wright.

Bradford service user representatives forum wins Yorkshire and the Humber drug team of the year award
Published: 17/11/08
A drug service user representatives forum - for users subject to Drug Rehabilitation Requirements (DRRs) in the Bradford area ( is a finalist in the national Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards, Home Office Minister Alan Campbell announced today.

Banging the drum for wood fuel
Published: 17/11/08
An ecologist has taken up a new post to bang the drum about the benefits of using wood as a renewable fuel in Yorkshire and the Humber. Rudie Humphrey, 36, has been appointed as the first ever regional co-ordinator for woodfuel by the Forestry Commission and Yorkshire Forward.

Skills Secretary and Regional Minister welcome public sector leadership
Published: 17/11/08
Local Authority Leaders and Chief Executives were congratulated on Friday by John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills and Rosie Winterton, Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber, for their commitment to improving skills of their workforce, at a regional Skills Pledge celebration event in Leeds.

Transport Secretary opens congestion-busting road scheme and welcomes £82 million boost to local transport in Leeds
Published: 17/11/08
The £50m final stage of Leeds' vital Inner Ring Road was officially opened by Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon, who also saw progress on the soon-to-be-completed £32m East Leeds Link Road during his visit to the city.

1,500 flood-hit families to receive help with council tax bills
Published: 07/11/08
Floods Recovery Minister John Healey today announced that 25 councils helping over 1,500 flood-hit families pay their council tax bills will share over £1.2million Government funding.

Regional Minister announces Yorkshire and Humber Economic Delivery Group
Published: 06/11/08
Regional Minister Rosie Winterton today announced she is setting up a high-powered Yorkshire and Humber Regional Economic Delivery Group to address economic challenges facing the region.

Changes to working neighbourhood funding announced
Published: 05/11/08
The Government has announced proposals to tighten up part of the formula used to allocate the Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF) - a three-year, £1.5bn Fund to turn around long-term unemployment in the most disadvantaged communities.