NEWQUAY and St Austell’s MP is due to press the Prime Minister for more funding for Cornwall.
Noah Law will raise the issue of the future of industrial and social funding in the Duchy in parliament during Prime Minister’s Questions today (Wednesday, October 9).
It follows Cornwall being allocated £137 million from the Shared Prosperity Fund in 2022 to cover the period until March 2025 but the money has already been used up.
The Shared Prosperity Fund was introduced to replace funding from the EU to regions across the UK – Cornwall had been due to receive around £100 million a year.
Mr Law believes industrial and social funding are critical for Cornwall to reach its economic potential. He states Cornwall’s natural resources will be able to play a significant role in achieving this goal as the UK aspires to become a climate leader and bring down its own energy bills.
However, the Shared Prosperity Fund has come under fire for its complexity and lack of clarity and purpose.
Now, instead of being directly funded by Cornwall Council, vital ongoing social programmes such as the Community Levelling Up Programme, Winter Wellbeing, the Community Hub – Construction Skills have been funded from the pot.
Mr Law states many industries such as a renewable energy need investment to be able to harness their potential in Cornwall.
The MP will ask the Prime Minister: “With Shared Prosperity Funding coming to an end and Cornwall having some of the greatest promise in Europe in renewables and critical minerals, it is time for our aspiring Celtic tiger to identify much more strategic economic development funding that takes us away from the short-termist, begging bowl politics of the last decade.
“Will the Prime Minister meet with the Cornish MPs to discuss the future of both industrial and social funding for Cornwall?”
The Prime Minister is expected to commit his Ministers leading on these areas to meet with Cornish MPs to discuss future funding needs.