For immediate release:

WHAT HAS THE EU EVER DONE FOR US? A LOT, SAYS LOCAL MSP

A new publicly accessible database has laid bare the financial impact that leaving the EU will have on areas across the UK, including here in Rutherglen and Cambuslang.

The figures show that the EU has invested around £275,000 locally via research projects and for language training in schools.

The EU invests around £5billion a year in the UK, and the European single market is around eight times bigger than the UK market alone. The independent Fraser of Allander Institute has forecast that a hard Brexit could cost Scotland up to 80,000 jobs within a decade.

Last week, the SNP announced that up to £18 million of European cash would be used by the Scottish Government to set up an Advanced Manufacturing Fund to help small and medium sized businesses.

Commenting, Rutherglen MSP Clare Haughey said:

“EU funding has made a huge contribution to infrastructure, culture, and opportunities in Scotland, and it has helped several projects locally too.

“Calderwood Primary, Trinity High, and St Charles’ Primary have received EU funding for language programmes, whilst the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in Cambuslang were the recipients of a whopping £273,000 for a research programme.

“This is just the latest analysis which confirms that Brexit is going to inflict major harm on our economy. Far from delivering extra cash for the NHS, as was infamously promised by the leave campaign bus, Scotland faces losing out on billions of pounds of funding with no clarity from the UK government over how this will be replaced.

“We are being dragged out of the European Union against our will, and Rutherglen and Cambuslang will be hugely damaged because of this. The only solution is to stay in the single market and customs union.”

ENDS

Notes:

Figures can be found on the following website: http://www.myeu.uk

Funding for local projects include:
• £3,147 to Calderwood Primary School for a Language Training project.
• £1,687 to St Charles’ Primary School for a Language Training project.
• £1,861 to Trinity High School for a Language Training project.
• £272,720 to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to fund 4% of their “HEIMDALL” research programme.

Details regarding the £18million Advanced Manufacturing Fund announced by the SNP can be found here: https://www.snp.org/snp-conference-everything-you-need-to-know/

Fraser of Allander Institute source (page 19): https://www.sbs.strath.ac.uk/economics/fraser/20161006/Long-term-Economic-Implications-of-Brexit.pdf

Date published: 19th October 2018