TREASURY plans to plug the funding hole left by Brexit “fall far short” of what Scotland’s communities and businesses need, finance secretary Derek Mackay warned.
Reacting to Chancellor Philip Hammond’s announcement that he would guarantee billions to replace disappearing EU funds, Mackay said the “limited” help “simply isn’t good enough”.
It could leave Scotland up to £750m worse off than EU membership, he said.
“It puts at risk significant investment and jobs, revealing the reality of Brexit,” Mackay added. “Scotland didn’t back Brexit and doesn’t want Brexit. We certainly should not now see funding and investment in communities hammered as a result of Brexit.”
Mackay last night wrote to Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke seeking more clarity and “comprehensive, long-term guarantees” on which funding streams would survive.
The other devolved governments also voiced concerns, with Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones complaining Hammond’s guarantee only covered around half the regional funding due to Wales and did “not provide the long-term certainty needed”.
Northern Ireland Finance Minister Máirtín Ó Muilleoir added that while some applicants for EU funds would be helped, there remained a "question mark over scores of other vital projects".
Hammond announced on Friday that the Treasury would guarantee up to £6bn a year for projects currently funded by the EU after Brexit, including farm subsidies and science grants.
The backing covers projects signed before the Autumn Statement in November or December.
Read more: Brexit campaign has legitimised racist language, says German-born minister
Current levels of agricultural funding will continue until 2020, but after that there will be a “transition to new domestic arrangements”.
Universities making research funding bids to the European Commission, including the EU’s £69bn Horizon 2020 programme, will also have their funding guaranteed, Hammond said, even if projects continue beyond Brexit.
The Chancellor said: “The UK will continue to have all of the rights, obligations and benefits that membership brings, including receiving European funding, up until the point we leave the EU. We are determined to ensure that people have stability and certainty in the period leading up to our departure from the EU.”
But Mackay responded: “We will study the detail but what is already clear is the Chancellor's approach falls far short of what fishermen, farmers and communities across Scotland need.
“Major funding streams such as contracts for EU structural funds and European Maritime Fisheries projects beginning after the Autumn Statement have no guarantee of continuation.
"Since the EU referendum, we have urged the UK Government to provide clarity and certainty on these vital funds. Yet, all that is clear with this announcement is uncertainty will continue.”
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell welcomed Hammond's decision “to agree with Labour's calls for EU structural funds to be protected post-Brexit”, but added he must also "speak up on the importance of keeping Britain's membership of the European Investment Bank".
Read more: Christina Boswell: There are ways to control immigration while staying in the EU single market
Hammond was also urged to go further by industry and science bodies who fear the loss of EU funds will hold back their work and ultimately damage the economy.
The Royal Society president Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, said some scientists had already missed out on collaborative projects because European colleagues were worried about funding.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have been hearing anecdotal reports of people not being willing to collaborate with certain UK collaborators because they weren't sure that they would be able to to stay for the full duration of the grant.”
Professor Dame Anne Glover, University of Aberdeen dean for Europe, added: "The research community needs to continue pressure to ensure this commitment is fully honoured. Without a clear understanding of the link between science, engineering and technology and our economy the Government may inadvertently compromise our future."
British Chambers of Commerce acting director general Adam Marshall welcomed the increased clarity over funding. But he added: "The delays that many worthwhile projects face in the approval process must also be cleared away - especially given the fact that the Treasury guarantee only covers projects signed by this year's Autumn Statement."
The SNP also called for a swift decision to boost airport capacity in south-east England, with a beneficial knock-on effect in Scotland, by approving expansion of either Gatwick or Heathrow.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel