The North West of England receives millions of pounds worth of funding from the European Union every year. The EU is an important source of funding for the region and helps to promote economic regeneration; encourage the growth of new markets as well as create new business opportunities for our companies; jobs for our citizens and subsidies for our farmers through the Common Agricultural Policy.
The largest source of EU funding to the region comes through European Union Structural Funds, which are administered through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF).
ESF funds are distributed through ‘Co-financing Organisations’ (CFOs), which are public bodies that bring together ESF and domestic funding for employment and skills so that European funding complements national programmes. Examples of these CFOs are, The Skills Funding Agency, the Department for Work and Pensions Delivery Directorate and the National Offender Management Service.
The ERDF was set up in 1975 and allocates funding to different regions throughout the European Union to boost economic development, foster regeneration in less prosperous areas and safeguard jobs.
Until 2011, the UK Government gave its nine Regional Development Agencies responsibility for managing the ERDF; this responsibility has now been transferred to the Department of Communities and Local Government.
The North West has been allocated €755 million to spend between 2007 and 2013.
The North West Operational Programme focuses on four main priorities of funding for the region:
Priority 1 - Stimulating Enterprise and supporting growth in target and markets, such as developing high value new enterprise, developing higher added value activity in target regional sectors, increasing sustainable consumption and production.
Priority 2 - Exploiting Innovation and Knowledge, such as exploiting the science and Research and Development base of the region, encouraging innovation to improve productivity in all companies and developing better management and leadership.
Priority 3 - Creating the conditions for sustainable growth, such as exploiting the economic potential of major gateways in Merseyside, developing high quality sites and premises of regional importance and supporting the improvement of the region’s visitor offer and image.
Priority 4 - Growing and accessing employment, such as stimulating enterprise in disadvantaged communities and under-represented groups, supporting linkages to key employment areas and supporting employment creation for areas of regeneration need.
The ERDF has helped support a wide variety of projects in the region – from large scale public works to small local initiatives. All are designed to benefit regional or local economies with grants going to projects that would not have taken place without it.
In the last two years the ERDF has resulted in the approval of over 100 projects and programmes as well as 5760 new businesses and the creation of over 40,000 new jobs in the North West.
These projects have included notable developments such as MediaCityUK in Salford and the Museum of Liverpool on Liverpool’s waterfront. Millions of pounds have also been spent on developing science and business parks across the region as well as funding major improvements in transport infrastructure, particularly around Merseyside.
For more information on the ERDF, its aims and the many projects it has to helped assist, click on the link below:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/regeneration/regenerationfunding/europeanregionaldevelopment/
For more about the European Social Fund, click on the link below:
http://dwp.gov.uk/esf/about-esf/