Euro-cash call for Corus
Jul 1 2009 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette
THE £5m announced by business minister Pat McFadden to help striken Corus workers is not new money, but recycled cash, it has been revealed. And around half the bill must be met by local taxpayers.
The government, which has refused to tap into European funds that are already benefiting employees of the Anglo Dutch steel company in Holland, admitted today that not only was the hand out coming from existing coffers, but it will be joint funded by the regional development agencies in whose backyards the 2,000 Corus job losses announced last week will fall.
Some of the money to help the 400-plus steel workers losing their jobs at Lackenby, Hartlepool, Skinningrove and Darlington will come from One North East.
The extra bill falls on its mat at a time when the RDA is having to pare back its budgets by £47m over the next two years.
But a spokesperson said the additional expenditure was justified when so many were losing their jobs.
Tory MEP Martin Callanan, who with his Labour and Lib Dem colleagues in Brussels has urged Business Minister Lord Mandelson to tap into European cash’s Globalisation Adjustment Fund (GAF) which releases cash to help victims of restructuring retrain, said it was another example of Labour spin and demonstrated the government’s lack of commitment to the North-east.
“At the same time as they are cutting One North East’s budget they are asking them to find something extra. Basically, they are being stingy with their own cash,” he said.
A spokesman for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills confirmed that the money was coming from existing budgets.
“Roughly half will come from the regional development authorities and half from Train 2 Gain. Basically, we have said the money is available. We now have to look at the terms and conditions and how it’s going to work,” he said.
A spokesperson for One North East, which has previously made a case for the government to apply to the GAF, said: “We are working with the government on a support package to assist with retraining and competitiveness at Corus.”
