Warning over ‘savage’ cuts to Yorkshire’s regeneraton funding

The Government is expected to reveal how Britain’s next tranche of regeneration funds from the European Union – worth more than £6bn over the six-year period from 2014-2020 – will be divided among local areas as part of Chancellor George Osborne’s spending review in a week’s time.

The amount of money available looks certain to be smaller than in the last allocation, due to David Cameron’s success at cutting the EU budget in negotiations earlier this year.

Mr Cable has already announced he intends to “top up” the money being handed out to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the funds allocated to the English regions – leaving MPs in poorer parts of Yorkshire concerned they will be hit hard.

Sheffield MP John Healey has previously warned that South Yorkshire is facing a “cliff edge” and could lose tens of millions of pounds. In his letter to Mr Cable this week, jointly signed by Merseyside MP Dave Watts, Mr Healey wrote: “It appears from discussions that our areas face cuts much more savage even than our worst fears, and massively greater than any other part of the UK.

“We urge you to review and rethink the position the Government has taken to date.”

A spokesman in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said an announcement was expected next week, and that the funds would be handed out as fairly as possible.

“Allocations of structural funds will be announced shortly, and the Government is determined to distribute the funding in the fairest possible way, subject to EU regulations,” he said.