North-east 'shortchanged' on EU replacement cash, says Adam
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THE north-east has been shortchanged by more than £20 million in EU replacement funding, a north-east MSP has claimed.
SNP Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP Karen Adam has the region has lost out on £23.4 million through the Shared Prosperity Fund.
Following EU exit, the UK government promised to replace the money Scotland previously received from the European Union. For this year, it is estimated that would have been £183 million.
However, figures just published by the Scottish Government show that Scotland will receive only £32million this year. That is £151 million short of the £183 million promised and works out at an estimated equivalent of over £9.8 million across Moray (£2.6 million) and Aberdeenshire (£7.2 million).
Ms Adam said: “EU funding has supported infrastructure projects and community initiatives across the country since the 1970s, with Scotland receiving and delivering more than £6 billion of EU Structural Funds.
“Elected Tory politicians have abandoned Scotland, but most of all, they have betrayed the north-east with their broken promises. Meanwhile, the Scottish Government have pledged to invest over £500 million in the north-east and Moray to support and grow our green economy.
“Being short-changed again by the Tories by millions of pounds really adds insult to injury for the people of Banffshire and Buchan Coast.
“This demonstrates exactly why the Tories’ joke of ‘levelling up’ actually means our community losing out, with Aberdeenshire and Moray facing the estimated loss of over £9.8 million had Scotland not been taken out of the EU against our will.
“Not only that, the Scottish Government previously made decisions about how best to spend the EU money based on local priorities. Now a UK Tory government – which Scotland did not vote for and hasn’t done for a lifetime - is cutting Scotland’s elected government out of the decision-making process. That is both a betrayal of democracy and a disgrace that money will be spent on Tory priorities which will fail to meet the needs of communities in Aberdeenshire and Moray
“This is yet another shocking demonstration why Westminster cannot be trusted with Scotland’s future. Scotland deserves better than partygate liar Boris Johnson’s litany of broken promises.”
However, Moray Conservative MP Douglas Ross accused Ms Adam of "peddlign out party lines" rather than dealing with the issues facing Scotland.
“This is typical of a SNP MSP peddling out party lines rather than looking at the bigger picture," he said.
“The UK government have provided the SNP government with record block grant funding to support our communities and further investment coming to Moray.
“Yet instead of engaging constructively to ensure this money gets to where it is needed most in the north-east and Moray, the SNP representative would prefer to whinge.
“Electing more Scottish Conservative councillors on May 5 will ensure the north-east and Moray will have councillors fighting for every penny of Levelling Up Funding and other UK government investment.
“That is in stark contrast to SNP councillors who will only be interested in pursuing nationalist priorities, not people’s local priorities.”
