Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the value of European Regional Development Fund support payments per capita in real terms in (1) Cornwall, (2) Devon, and (3) England, in each year since 2010.

Under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2014–20 Programme in England, the funding available has been allocated to Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) areas and it is then for these partners to inform central Government when and where investments in their respective areas take place. The ERDF is the main source of EU funding used to support infrastructure in localities. This is complemented by the European Social Fund (ESF) which is also allocated to LEP areas in England and supports employment, skills and social inclusion.

The level of EU Structural Funds (the combination of the ERDF and the ESF) that has been allocated to each LEP area, including Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Heart of the South West and England can be found (attached) here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-structural-funds-uk-allocations-2014-to-2020.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP area allocation is significantly greater than that of the Heart of the South West. This is because the EU categorises Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly as ‘a Less Developed Region’ whereas it categorises Heart of the South West as ‘a More Developed Region’. These categories are assigned according to the per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of each of these areas.

Details of population by LEP area from 2010 onwards using the Nomis Database which can be found here: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/lep/contents.aspx

Details of projects that have been funded are available (attached) on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-structural-and-investment-funds-useful-resources

The government has committed to develop the UK Shared Prosperity Fund as a successor to EU structural fund programmes. This new Fund affords a fresh opportunity to spend money according to our own priorities, improve productivity and reduce economic inequality across the country.