EC restarts regeneration funding stream hit by irregularities
A £3bn flow of regeneration funding has resumed after being halted by the European Commission following the discovery of irregularities.
The commission lifted the interruption to payments of European Regional Development Funding in England, imposed on 31 March, after the Government put tighter controls in place.
An annual audit found a number of irregularities in projects. The fund had been administered by the now-doomed regional development agencies, but management passed in July to the Department for Communities and Local Government on 1 July.
Communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles said: “The ERDF programme has been plagued by a legacy of poor administration and fines that dates back to 2000.
“The measures that this Government has taken have been recognised by the European Commission which [will allow] vital regeneration work to continue.”
Pickles said the Government inherited potential liabilities for ERDF projects started between 2000-06 of £191m for the financial year 2009-10, but further investigation identified additional liabilities, taking this total to £236m.
The department reduced this by more than £63m during 2010-11, but of the remainder £38.1m cannot be recovered.
- Details
A £3bn flow of regeneration funding has resumed after being halted by the European Commission following the discovery of irregularities.
The commission lifted the interruption to payments of European Regional Development Funding in England, imposed on 31 March, after the Government put tighter controls in place.
An annual audit found a number of irregularities in projects. The fund had been administered by the now-doomed regional development agencies, but management passed in July to the Department for Communities and Local Government on 1 July.
Communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles said: “The ERDF programme has been plagued by a legacy of poor administration and fines that dates back to 2000.
“The measures that this Government has taken have been recognised by the European Commission which [will allow] vital regeneration work to continue.”
Pickles said the Government inherited potential liabilities for ERDF projects started between 2000-06 of £191m for the financial year 2009-10, but further investigation identified additional liabilities, taking this total to £236m.
The department reduced this by more than £63m during 2010-11, but of the remainder £38.1m cannot be recovered.
Directory
