Cornwall is about to go “off a cliff” because the Government has not given the area enough money to fill the funding black hole that will be created by Brexit, according to one Cornish councillor.
The Government has decided to give Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly just £18 million in its latest round of local economy investment funding. But Cornwall is set to lose £60 million of annual funding from the EU – awarded to support the area’s weak economy – after Brexit.
Shortly after the EU referendum – in which Cornwall voted for Brexit – the head of the Council called on the Government to replace the funding provided by the EU programme. But the Department for Communities and Local Government has given Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) just a fraction of the £127 million it sought from the Growth Deals scheme.
‘Devastatingly low total’
“[Leavers] said that there would be replacement funding from the central Government. They were either stupid or they were misleading.”
Tim Dwelly, Labour Councillor
The Growth Deals allocation was a chance for the Government to show it “noticed Cornwall’s needs,” and would make up for the money lost after Brexit, said Tim Dwelly, the Labour Councillor for Penzance East.
He told i the £18 million was a “devastatingly low total,” adding that it was “patronising” for some to say that it served Cornwall right for backing Brexit.
The figure is lower than what the region has previously received from the Growth Deal allocations: £48.9 million in July 2014 and £11.3 million in January 2015. The most recent allocation – £18m- is expected to be given over three years from 2019.
More than 56 per cent of people in Cornwall voted to leave the EU (the Isles of Scilly voted to Remain), with many believing the Leave campaigners who had promised that the Government would replace funding lost from the EU, said Mr Dwelly. Cornwall received around £500 million from the EU from 2013 to 2020, but nothing has been secured for after that.
Leavers were ‘misleading’
Cornwall’s GDP per capita is around 72% of the EU average, meaning it is less prosperous.
Gross Domestic Product per capita is the total monetary value of goods and service produced in an area divided by the number of people living there.
Cornwall receives a high level of funding from the EU because of its poor economy.
“We used to get special funding because we’re such a poor region. Now we’re not going to. In my opinion, the promises made by Conservative MPs in Cornwall at the time of the referendum have, as predicted, come to nothing.
“They said that there would be replacement funding from the central Government. They were either stupid or they were misleading.”
Mr Dwelly said many people in Cornwall voted for Remain, so it was “actually very patronising that some people think it serves Cornwall right. We have a lot of people who voted to Leave who were promised there would be replacement funding.
“Whatever your views on the referendum, we are about to go off a cliff,” he added.
‘Shocked’
Julian German, Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder for economy and culture and an independent councillor, said Cornish businesses that had made “compelling bids for investment in products, services and infrastructure” from the Growth Deals scheme would be left disappointed.
The LEP had been encouraged to make an “ambitious bid for funding,” he said. “I am shocked that Government investment in Cornwall is so small,” Mr German added.
He told i that Cornwall Council was still in talks with the Government to secure funding for after Brexit. He feared that momentum and talent would be lost if a system was not put in place before Britain left the EU.
A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said:
“This Government has backed Cornwall with major powers and resources in the first devolution deal for a county. Each bid for growth funding was individually assessed against a range of criteria, including the LEPs’ strategy for local growth, the strength of private sector partnerships and investment, and also past delivery record.
“There was a great amount of interest and as a result the fund was more than three times over-subscribed, with £5.9 billion worth of bids submitted.”