Lord Heseltine calls for growth in the regions

Lord Heseltine was given a warm welcome at Birmingham's town hall as he addressed members of the city's private and public sector.

He called on the coaliiton government to take power and money away from Whitehall and give to the regions to boost economic growth.

He said that big cities like Birmingham should decide how much money they need and wheere it should be spent.

His review proposes £250,000 of public funding be given to Local Enterprise Partnerships over the next two years, to plan their local strategy.

They will then have the opportunity to bid from a single pot of £49 billion, which will be made available in 2015.