Advantage West Midlands saved from chop

Regional development quango Advantage West Midlands (AWM) has been spared the axe, saving 250 jobs.

The organisation, which spends £300 million a year of taxpayers' money boosting business, had been facing an uncertain future under the new coalition Government with the Tories known to be critics of regional development agencies.

But Lib Dem business secretary Vince Cable today said that AWM would be spared the axe.

This is good news for the £67m i54 business park at Pendeford in Wolverhampton.