The proposals, which will be voted on by Lib Dem members at the conference in Brighton, are designed to boost green growth and jobs, support small businesses, open up access to finance, expand apprenticeships and unlock innovation.

The proposals include:

• Expanding the Green Investment Bank’s scale and remit and relaxing restrictions on its borrowing
• Creating Small Business Zones and New Enterprise Hubs
• Facilitating the emergence and growth of new lenders, in particular by restructuring parts of RBS into local and community banks
• Expanding apprenticeships on public infrastructure projects
• Introducing a ‘supply chain buddying’ programme, whereby large companies already engaged in export undertake to support SMEs in their supply chain to find new overseas customers

The proposals are being put forward by Duncan Hames, Parliamentary Private Secretary to Liberal Democrat Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey.

Commenting, Duncan Hames said:

“The Liberal Democrats are determined to make this the greenest government ever.

“As we rebuild our economy it is crucial that green jobs and industry are at the heart of our recovery.

“Britain has the opportunity to be a world leader in clean, renewable technologies. Going green is good for business, good for consumers and good for the economy.

“Liberal Democrats want future generations to inherit a prosperous economy that is fair, sustainable and where every individual has a stake in society.”

You can read the policy paper here.