DEPUTY Prime Minister Nick Clegg has defended the Government’s flagship Regional Growth Fund (RGF) against accusations that it has been too slow to get money to where it is needed.

Mr Clegg was in Merseyside yesterday to confirm logistics giant Stobart and glassmaker Pilkington were to receive £14m of RGF cash towards two projects worth a combined £172m.

Stobart is to expand its Widnes freight park in a move expected to create more than 5,000 jobs.

And hundreds of jobs will be created at Pilkington, in St Helens, when the company builds a new production facility.

RGF was launched in October, 2010, and has so far allocated £1.4bn through two bidding rounds, and Mr Clegg yesterday announced an extra £1bn for the scheme.

It is designed to provide top-up funding to commercial projects that already have significant private sector investment.

In the North West, Peel Ports is set to receive money towards a river terminal on the Mersey and the Daily Post’s sister paper, the Liverpool Echo, will shortly launch a £1m fund for small firms.

Labour politicians claim there have been long delays in the allocation of the cash, but, in an interview with LDP Business, Mr Clegg accused RGF critics of being stuck in the past.