CALLS TO RETURN CORNWALL'S EURO MILLIONS (Julia Goldsworthy)

Julia Goldsworthy <info@juliagoldsworthy.org>

CALLS TO RETURN CORNWALL'S EURO MILLIONS

February 24, 2009 12:45 PM

MPs in Cornwall have called on Communities Secretary Hazel Blears to return £25 million of European funds earmarked to be spent on regeneration in Cornwall.

The government rejected an offer from Brussels to add a 6 month extension to spend the money, which is worth over £670 million across the whole of England. Instead, the Treasury will now put this money towards their annual contribution to Europe, denying some of the poorest parts of England access to money originally earmarked for their benefit.

The decision was apparently made without formal consultation with the regions involved, or without any formal statement in Parliament. Cornwall was well placed to spend the money, because its participation in the Convergence Programme means the administrative structures are still in place.

Cornwall's 5 Lib Dem MPs have written to Hazel Blears demanding an explanation why this decision was made without consulting those who stood to benefit from the extension. They have also tabled a motion in Parliament, calling on the Government to commit to making the funds available to Cornwall.

Commenting, Julia Goldsworthy said:

"Hazel Blears must explain why she thinks the Treasury deserves hundreds of millions of pounds that were originally intended for the poorest regions in the country - including Cornwall. It adds insult to injury that Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales were given this opportunity, but Cornwall was not.

"The government must now use its ill-gotten gains to compensate Cornwall for the vast sums of regeneration money it is being denied - this will be far more effective at supporting the local economy than simply squirreling the money away at the Treasury."

Andrew George, MP for St Ives, added:

"The fact is that the government has spurned European money for its poorest region, Cornwall, whilst it has taken the money for better off places, like Scotland, which already get a disproportionate share of public money.

"They could put it right if they wanted to. They could still push the fiscal stimulus back into Cornwall and help further by reversing the tax office closure programme."