Clegg ‘asleep’ as funding was cut

The Deputy Prime Minister accused his fellow Sheffield MPs of “shocking hypocrisy” after they said he was culpable for failing to halt the Coalition’s plan to take European grants away from South Yorkshire as the region faced a 50 per cut in EU funding.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post at his monthly press conference in Whitehall yesterday, a visibly angry Mr Clegg claimed Labour had “airbrushed from history” its own failure to properly support the region during its 13 years in power.

He said the EU money on offer to South Yorkshire has been reducing every year since 2007 under a plan drawn up by the last Labour Government, and that the new deal announced by the Coalition will actually increase the annual funding to the region.

The Yorkshire Post revealed last year how the Coalition decided to take tens of millions of pounds of EU funds earmarked for England’s poorest regions by Brussels and use the money to “top up” the funds on offer to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Earlier this month a High Court judge overturned that decision following a legal challenge by furious council bosses in South Yorkshire, which along with Merseyside is facing the biggest total cut in funding over the next few years.

The Government was told it must carry out an ‘equality assessment’ before it can proceed.

In a heated Commons debate on Tuesday night, Labour MPs from South Yorkshire accused Mr Clegg – the MP for Sheffield Hallam – of failing to stick up for his constituents as Ministers decided to redistribute the money away from poorest parts of England last year.

“The Deputy Prime Minister was asleep on the job when the decisions were taken,” said John Healey, the Labour MP for Wentworth and Dearne. “He is allowing other Ministers to pull the wool over his eyes. He has not been standing up for South Yorkshire.”

Mr Healey described the dispute as “Forgemasters mark II”, in reference to Mr Clegg’s failure to prevent the Coalition scrapping an £80m loan to the iconic Sheffield firm after the last election.

He also said South Yorkshire’s councils will now appeal the ruling of the High Court judge, who whilst ruling the decision unlawful said the Government ultimately has the right to proceed once it has carried out the necessary impact assessment.

This latter point was emphasised by Mr Clegg yesterday as he turned his guns on Labour.

“The High Court actually approved the Government’s right to make a decision as we did,” Mr Clegg said. “It said we needed to conduct an equality assessment... But it did not question the basic logic of the decision.”

Mr Clegg said it was “simply not true” to describe the funding change as a cut, despite the fact South Yorkshire is in line to receive just £150m over the next seven years – less than half the amount it received in the previous seven-year EU budget period.

The Lib Dem leader said the previous EU grant had been heavily weighted towards the earlier part of the seven-year budget period, with most of the money being paid out in the first few years and then tapering off towards the end.

This, he said, was the real “cliff-edge drop” that South Yorkshire had faced – and one agreed by the Labour Party when in office.

“I think even by Labour standards it is a shocking example of hypocrisy for them to go around pointing fingers, when they cut the money themselves at a higher rate when in office,” he said.

“Actually the money will go up this year – up, and not down.”

XREF leader