Cornwall set to get less than half of its replacement EU funding

Cornwall is set to get less than half the amount of money it was expected to get from the EU before Brexit.

Before Brexit, Cornwall got more money per head from the European Union than any other part of England - getting more in funding than it paid out.

If the UK had stayed in the EU, it was anticipated Cornwall would get around £100million a year in funding.

Cornwall Council had submitted a bid to the Government to get £700million in the next seven years to match the funding which would have been provided by the EU.

Now the Government has announced Cornwall will get £132million from the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF), spread over the next three years.

In one report, the council said it was “crucial” that Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly continued to receive that level of financial support.

The new funding announcement has been welcomed by the Conservative leaders at Cornwall Council and Cornwall’s Conservative MPs. However, other councillors have expressed concern about the reduction in funding and accused the Government of breaking promises.

While the total funding from the fund will be less than what Cornwall could have been received from the EU, the Government has highlighted the Duchy is also receiving funding from other sources as well, such as Town Deals and the Levelling Up Fund.

Critics have previously pointed out those funding streams were available to all parts of the country whilst Cornwall’s EU funding had been awarded because it was recognised as being one of the poorest regions in the EU.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has previously stated Cornwall would get at least the same level of funding it would have received if the UK remained in the EU.

Minister for Levelling Up Neil O’Brien said the fund will allow communities to "directly tackle the issues affecting their local area, whether that’s access to more opportunities or high street regeneration".

He added: “I look forward to working closely with local leaders in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to see the creative, ambitious choices that communities make as they level up and take charge of their destinies.”

North Cornwall MP Scott Mann described the money as a "huge win", adding: “Residents will be able to see the impact of this funding on their communities in the coming years and I am proud to have been able to play a part in delivering it.

"I look forward to speaking with community groups and elected local leaders to see how best we all think this money can be invested.”

Cornwall Council leader Linda Taylor also welcomed the funding, saying: “The Shared Prosperity Fund will enable the council to start delivering on the ambitions set out in the suite of housing, transport and sustainable growth plans that comprise Prosperous Cornwall 2050 agreed at council earlier this week.”

Steve Double, MP for St Austell and Newquay, described it as "great news", saying Cornwall will "not lose out".

He said: "Cornwall has by far the largest amount of SPF funding per head of anywhere in England, recognition that we remain at the forefront of the Government’s levelling up agenda.

“Crucially this funding will be much easier to administer and deliver than the unwieldy, poorly targeted and often unspent EU funding, and will be managed locally, by the people who know the area best.”

But Jayne Kirkham, leader of the Labour group at County Hall, said: “Wondering if anyone else has noticed that £129.5m over three years isn’t the same as the £100million per year we’ve lost by not being in the EU? In fact, it’s less than half."

Independent councillor and former leader of Cornwall Council Julian German said: “So Kernow gets far less than promised: UK SPF £132m over next three years.

"What a sad state our country is in.”

Independent councillor Tim Dwelly said: “When the Government pledged categorically to match Cornwall’s EU funding (£100m a year) some people fell for it.

"Others like me predicted it wouldn’t happen. We could see how little was earmarked in the budgets. Now Cornwall is to get just £129.5m over three years from the new Shared Prosperity Fund. Not £300m. Just 43% of what it should be. The equivalent of £43m a year not £100m.

"This, I’m sorry to say, is what many of us call levelling down. Making Cornwall poorer as a result of a direct Government decision.”

Credit: Richard Whitehouse, Local Democracy Reporting Service