The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) has admitted that it is still unaware how Chancellor George Osborne’s £6.2bn worth of spending cuts will affect it. NWDA chief executive Steven Broomhead said: “We do not yet know which individual projects and areas of regional development agency (RDA) work will be affected or how this saving will be divided amongst the RDAs. This will be agreed shortly.” He added: “Right now we have a significant job to do and we will continue to deliver renewed growth here in the North West.”

The Institute of Directors (IoD) has welcomed the government’s proposal to make £6.2bn of cuts. Darrell Matthews, regional director of the IoD North West, said: “If poor value business support programmes have to be cut in order to bring the public finances back into balance that is the right step to take.” However, the Forum of Private Business (FPB) called the cuts “regrettable”. Head of policy Matthew Goodman said: “The £836m reduction earmarked for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills could potentially mean that business support will be one of the worst casualties of the cutbacks. This, of course, is a cause for concern.”

Mitchell Charlesworth, the accountancy firm and business adviser, has relocated to a new 8,000 sq ft office in Widnes. The firm has moved from premises on Albert Road in the town centre to a newly refurbished site at the Glebe Business Centre. The office will be home to its independent corporate insurance solutions service Mitchell Charlesworth Insurance Solutions and be staffed by 28 people.

Maxwell Hodge, a Liverpool law firm, has launched a new financial advice and support division as part of its continued expansion plans. Maxwell Financial Planning will create jobs for ten independent financial advisers. Carol Head, business services director, described the new venture as “a natural fit” for the solicitor. Maxwell Hodge already has eight offices across Liverpool, employing more than 80 staff.

More than half of employees in the UK think that green issues are important to their company, according to a survey by the Liverpool Convention Bureau. Just 15 per cent of respondents said that green issues were unimportant to their workplace in the survey, which was conducted by Opinium research on behalf of the bureau as part of a bid to promote the city as a green business destination.

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Fresh from announcing an 11 per cent increase in footfall for the year to date, Liverpool One was this morning praised for the quality of its finishes and public realm space. Speaking at Insider’s Sustainability in the Built Environment Breakfast, held at Cube (Centre for the Urban Built Environment) in Manchester, Central Salford chairman Felicity Goodey said Grosvenor’s scheme was the example that other construction firms and local authorities should follow. She said: “The quality of finish at Liverpool One is fantastic and going to last. Local authorities need to look for longer-term savings that will help to save the environment, rather than getting short-term gain because of budgetary pressures.”