Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the contribution of innovation districts to local economic growth.

Innovation Districts support innovation and commercialisation by facilitating knowledge sharing, collaboration, commercialisation of R&D outcomes, innovation promotion and business support.

Knowledge Quarter Liverpool brings together the City's key partners to collaborate in a creative environment. The Paddington Village site will attract a further £1 billion to the city, and house 1.8m sq. ft of science, technology, education and health space.

UK Government is supporting new Innovation Districts to form across the Union. For example, Innovation City Belfast will seek to maximise the impact of the planned £1 billion Belfast Region City Deal which will invest £230 million in university research centres and £120 million in digital innovation.

Therefore, while current contributions have been important, the next 10-15 years are where the true contribution will be seen, and we welcome the future impact of innovation districts.