Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate he has made of the potential effect on European structural funding in Merseyside and Halton of the UK leaving the EU.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring regions and organisations have stability and certainty in the period leading up to our departure from the European Union. At the same time, we are keen to use the opportunities that departure presents to set our own priorities. The Chancellor has announced that the Treasury will guarantee structural and investment fund bids which are signed before the UK leaves the EU. This includes funding for projects agreed after the Autumn Statement, if they represent good value for money, and if they are in line with the government’s strategic priorities, even if these projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.

Leaving the EU means we will want to take our own decisions about how to deliver the policy objectives previously targeted by EU funding. Over the coming months, the government will consult closely with stakeholders to review all EU funding schemes in the round, to ensure that any ongoing funding commitments best serve the UK‘s national interest, while ensuring appropriate certainty.