Rural firms to ‘lose out on millions’ after funding cut
A major challenge is exposed here, it regards the imposition of a rurally disadvantaged approach to the follow on from EU funding, smuggled into the small print around the budget, which fortunately the CLA are onto, but which merits some concerted lobbying and action. This article tells us.
Rural firms are set to lose out on hundreds of millions under revised funding plans unveiled in the recent Budget, the Country Land and Business Association has warned.
The CLA, which represents 28,000 rural businesses and farmers, has criticised the government for removing support aimed at levelling up the rural economy.
The group found that spending plans under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will lead to a shortfall of £315 million for rural businesses over a seven-year period.
The figure represents the discrepancy in funding assigned to tackling regional economic disparities through the EU’s Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), versus what will be received under the UKSPF to bolster rural productivity.
But the government’s new plans signal a marked shift from previous EU investment models, where rural areas benefitted from a ringfenced fund every year.
Closer inspection of the 2021/2022 Budget shows that there will be no dedicated funding in the UKSPF for rural businesses, as the ESIF rural fund had already been allocated for 2020/2021.