England receives ESF funding cut

Funding for England under the European Structural Funding (ESF) has been cut, it has emerged.

According to reports, although England is to benefit from a total of £4 billion in funding to help with the development of jobs and skills for the disadvantaged over the next seven years, the figure represents a cut of 50 per cent compared with the amount awarded for the period between 2000 and 2006.

Under the terms of the ESF, funding has been shifted to less prosperous parts of the European Union.

"ESF provides money backed by government to support hundreds of separate projects all around the country," said James Plaskit, the minister responsible for ESF at the Department for Work and Pensions to Personnel Today.

"We hope hundreds of thousands of more people will get back into work over the next six years, through this funding," he added.

ESF objectives are achieved through the work of four funds, including the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund.