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Some 45 towns – mainly in the Midlands, north west and Yorkshire – are set to benefit from a £1 billion pot of cash from the Government’s Towns Fund.

In all 101 towns applied for funding, with the first successful areas revealed during the Budget.

The money will help those towns and their communities create a secure jobs and meet some of the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Most of the funding packages are for between £20 million and £25 million though some areas are set to get more – Southport and Stevenage, for instance, both get £37.5 million.

There has been some criticism of the thinking behind how the money has been allocated after it became apparent that of the roughly 56 constituencies covered by the towns, some 47 have Tory MPs, and something like 53 of the areas voted to Leave the EU.

Eyebrows have also been raised that many of the areas to benefit face fewer social and jobs issues than other towns across the country.

Some opposition MPs have raised questions over the transparency of how the money is being allocated.

Despite that, areas that made the list have welcomed the added support at such a difficult time for the º£½ÇÊÓƵ economy.