Theresa May under pressure to guarentee '˜critical' funding for Yorkshire before Brexit

Prime Minister Theresa May at The Yorkshire Post's offices in Leeds during a visit last week. (YPN).

New figures obtained by The Yorkshire Post under the Freedom of Information Act show that with less than two years to go before Britain leaves the European Union, the region’s four local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) have received less than 40 percent of their total allocated funds.

The revelation has prompted fresh concerns about access to the remaining £207m, after Mrs May’s Government outlined a set of new conditions that would have to be met before new projects are signed-off.

LEP officials have responded with demands for greater clarity from ministers, while Labour MPs have challenged the Tory leader to include further  guarantees in her party’s new manifesto.

“It’s deeply concerning that the Conservative government has failed to commit to even half of the funding that Yorkshire was promised,” said Barnsley Central MP Dan Jarvis.

“But after the Chancellor rejected my proposal to consult and empower the regions on this issue, it comes as no surprise.

“Assurances about this investment were made during the referendum and must now form part of the Conservative manifesto.

“If they do not commit to this funding, the businesses and people of Yorkshire will face further uncertainty on whether this  vital investment is going to continue.”

According to Government figures, LEPs in Leeds, Sheffield, North Yorkshire and the Humber are set to receive just under £340m in European regional development funding over the course of the 2014-2020 EU budget.

At the time of the June 24 referendum, just 1.2 percent (£4m) of this money had been  released by Whitehall, as ministers imposed a temporary funding freeze.

Over the summer, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced that any project signed-off before the November Autumn Statement would be fully financed, later adding that new projects could still be given the greenlight after this date if they meet “value for money criteria” and are deemed to be in line with “domestic strategic priorities”.

The figures reveal that by the beginning of March this year – the latest date for which information is available – just 38 percent or £132m of the region’s ERDF funding had been released.

The largest share - £58.3m- of this has gone to Leeds City Region LEP, while Humber LEP has secured the highest proportion of its total 2014-20 allocation at 43 percent.

A spokesman for Sheffield City Region LEP, which has received 39.9 percent of funding (£38.5m), said they were “making good progress” to maximise funds and working with the Government “as they determine the best way to proceed”.

But they suggested politicians must provide more “clarity” as to what will replace European funding streams “both in terms of any funding not secured from the 2014-2020 programme and then after 2020 in a post EU world”.

“This is of critical importance given the value of this funding to regional development across the UK,” they said. “We would be expecting funding at least at the level of the current ERDF Programme – on top of other ‘normal’ regional funding that would be expected to be provided.”

Commenting on the figures, a Conservative spokesman said: “We recognise the decision to leave the EU has caused some uncertainty. That’s why last summer, the Conservative Government moved swiftly to offer guarantees on EU structural and investment projects in Yorkshire.

“We are determined that no part of the United Kingdom will lose out from our exit from the European Union.

“As long as the UK remains a member of the EU it retains all the same rights and obligations.

“This means EU funding is available as before the referendum and bidding for such funds should continue as normal.

“We will be setting out our manifesto in due course.

“It is worth remembering that the EU funding only runs up to the end of the current EU budget period, meaning there are no guarantees even inside the EU on what happens to funding post-2020.”

Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer said: “For all the Government’s rhetoric, it is the regions that are already feeling the effect of the Tories’ reckless approach to Brexit.

“These figures show that Yorkshire hasn’t got a commitment for even half of their promised EU regional development funding; and there is no sign of that changing.

“The people and businesses of Yorkshire are right to be nervous.”