Dozens of Leeds council jobs ‘potentially at risk’ when EU funding ends

The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), which funnels cash into local authorities and universities, will be cut off in the UK at the end 2023, because of Brexit.

Around 120 staff working within Leeds City Council are paid using money from the fund, at a cost of around £6m a year.

But a new cash pot the government is setting up to replace it, The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), is not expected to match the sums Leeds and other cities have been receiving from Europe.

A Leeds City Council report said that as a result, “There is the potential for a large number of jobs associated with ESIF delivery to be at risk as EU funding ends next year.”

The report, which will go before senior councillors next week, said that many public and private sector bodies have become “to some degree reliant” on EU funding over the last 50 years.

It added: “The funds have supported strategically important projects to help businesses to grow, individuals to gain, stay and progress in employment

and communities to thrive.

“The introduction of the UKSPF therefore represents a major change for a wide range of organisations across Leeds, including Leeds City Council.”

The report said that some £81m worth of European money has been committed to projects across Leeds since 2015.

However, only £46.5m of that is expected to materialise before the end of next year.

Confirming that the new fund is likely to be smaller in size than the EU’s cash pot, the report added that: “The UKSPF will be a mainly revenue programme and the allocation is expected to be less than currently received through ESIF.”

The UNISON and GMB trade unions, who represent council staff, have been contacted for comment.