Date: 17 October 2018

 WHAT HAS THE EU EVER DONE FOR US?

Christina McKelvie MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse has warned that leaving the EU will mean very local as well as national cuts in funding. In this constituency, people will lose out on at least £9,300 of direct funding each year after the UK leaves the EU.

A new publicly accessible database has laid bare the financial impact that leaving the EU will have on areas around Scotland and throughout the UK.

Christina said: “In just this one constituency, our losses represent a huge hit upon smaller community and school-based projects with big impacts. This is exactly the kind of ground-level work that is helping to build language skills at Chaterherault, Hareleeshill, Woodside and St Peter’s primary schools as well as the £15 million for 24 research projects across this area.

 “The EU has invested in projects such as the Hamilton Academics Football Club, part of the Mobility for Success apprenticeship programme which received £291,392.

“Unemployment among mobility participants is less than 4%, compared to 45% unemployment in peers from other Scottish clubs who have not undertaken mobility. The consequential improvement in informal learning, soft skills, cultural awareness and linguistic abilities as a result of mobility has proven to be a major deciding factor for employers.

“ This mobility project will enhance the employability of Scottish apprentices and allow them to experience the culture, language and training methods at an acknowledged (UEFA) Centre of Excellence, which is applauded as having world class record in talent identification, innovative coaching and player development.”

Through the Erasmus+ programme, the EU has invested £12,045,200 to support 76 education, training, youth and sport projects with partners around the Motherwell postcode area.

The EU provided South Lanarkshire Council with £2,984,190 to help fund its jobs and growth programme setting young unemployed people into education, training and employment.

The EU invests around £5 billion a year in the UK, and the European single market is around eight times bigger than the UK market alone.

Last week, the SNP announced that up to £18 million of European cash would be used by the Scottish Government to set up an Advanced Manufacturing Fund to help small and medium sized businesses.

Christina said: “As these figures show, Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse has benefitted hugely from the strong relationship between Scotland and the European Union.

“EU funding has made a huge contribution to infrastructure, culture, and opportunities in Scotland. This is just the latest analysis which confirms that Brexit is going to inflict major harm on our economy.

“Far from delivering extra cash for the NHS, as was infamously promised by the leave campaign bus, Scotland faces losing out on billions of pounds of funding with no clarity from the UK government over how, or even whether, this will be replaced.

“We are being dragged out of the European Union against our will, and my constituents will be hugely damaged because of this. The only solution is to stay in the single market and customs union.”

 

 

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NOTES TO EDITORS:

Funds received from the EU's budget are of broadly two types: pre-allocated and competitive. Finance in the form of European Investment Bank Group lending is also significant and distributed outwith the EU budget.

• Common Agricultural Policy(CAP) is by far the largest source of EU funds. Over £500 million a year comes to Scotland from the CAP in the form of direct payments to farm businesses and rural development funding. Following Brexit, short-term guarantees have been provided by the UK Government to replace most CAP funds until 2022, but no commitments have yet been made to replace CAP funding in the long term.
• Structural Fundsin Scotland are worth up to €941 million across the EU budget period for use in economic development. To make full use of these funds, they must be legally committed to projects in Scotland by the end of 2020. Half of Scotland's potential structural funding is uncommitted at present. Following Brexit, the UK Government has provided short-term guarantees and proposes a UK-wide replacement fund in the longer-term.
• Common Fisheries Policyis co-financed in Scotland through the European Maritime Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Scotland is allocated 44% (€108m) of the total UK figure and £42 million - over 80% of the Scottish allocation - has been committed to projects so far.
• Competitive fundsare awarded directly by European Commission to organisations and include significant research, innovation and education exchange programmes. Since 2014, €533 million of Horizon 2020 funding, €65 million of Erasmus+ funding and €58 million of Territorial Cooperation funding has been secured by Scottish organisations.
• The European Investment Bank Groupprovides finance outwith the MFF 2014-20 in the form of loans. Since 2016, the EIB has signed loans worth €2.0 billion to projects in Scotland.