THE DIRECTOR of a business-backed organisation formed to help boost economic growth in the North of England visited Carlisle to speak to businesses who may be affected by a drop in Government funding.

Henri Murison from the Northern Powerhouse Partnership was given tours around companies who are based in the city’s Kingmoor Park. The visit came as analysis from the Partnership discovered that the Shared Prosperity Fund would no longer match previous EU structural funding as had been promised in the Conservative manifesto.

The Fund is part of the Government’s levelling up agenda. It has been set up to provide £2.6 billion of new funding for local investment by March 2025, with all areas of the UK receiving an allocation.

The Partnership are aware that the final decision over how much each area will receive will be decided in the spring statement, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also set to receive funding.

The group feel that if the devolved nations are protected as promised, it means less money for the English regions, with the north bearing the brunt of the cuts.  Eight out of ten of the areas that stand to see the biggest cuts per person are in the north of England, with Cumbria standing to see the third biggest cut per person, equivalent to roughly £12 per person a year.

Speaking after tours round industrial door suppliers Clark Door Ltd and dry roofing specialists, Kytun UK, Henri Murison said: “We’re concerned that there is less money on table for Cumbrian businesses. When the Chancellor announces his spring statement, we are really concerned that Cumbria will end up with less per head than it was under the Theresa May and David Cameron governments.

"That’s not good news for Cumbria and, as we talk about entrepreneurship and about growing businesses and innovation, the companies that are supplying to others around the world will not get the support they need to continue doing so.”

Neil McIntyre, Managing Director at Kingmoor Park, added: “We have plans in the future to continue building what we have for the good of the local economy and local employment opportunities. To do that we need the support to help these businesses continue providing services to their client base.”