60% cut in EU funding, says Liverpool council
LIVERPOOL City Council has announced European funding to Merseyside has been cut by 60% by the Government.
It said a new settlement from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) meant it would get £185m, from 2014-2020, down from .
This equates to £128 per head of population – down from £325 per head under the 2007-2013 programme.
The council said it followed the Government’s decision to reallocate £650m of EU funding for England to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
It believes Liverpool will get less than the rest of the North West from 2014-2020 – despite being officially classed as poorer than Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Warrington, Lancashire and Cumbria.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, said: “This is an absolute travesty and a devastating blow for our area. It is like Robin Hood in reverse – robbing from the poor to give to those that are richer. It can only serve to widen the gap between our area and other parts of not just England, but also the North West.
“I am completely baffled by the Government’s logic, because it appears there isn’t any. Not only have they patently ignored the EU funding formula, but we are now in the perverse situation where areas better off than ours will receive more funding. I will be making a strong and powerful case to Government that they now need to find other ways to support us financially, either through the Regional Growth Fund, or by looking again at our allocation through City Deal 2.”
