Local authority winners and losers have been revealed in a new government draft map of areas eligible for regional funding. Published this week, the map highlights proposed assisted areas for 2007-13, and will focus on helping improve competitiveness and reduce regional inequalities. Halton and Ellesmere Port, South Manchester, North Warwickshire, Lowestoft, Brighton and Hove and Edinburgh and West Lothian were immediately excluded, but disadvantaged regions of Cornwall and the Scilly Isles, West Wales and the Valleys, and the Scottish Highlands and Islands automatically qualified. A spokeswoman for the Local Government International Bureau explained that despite allocation being withdrawn from some specific areas, most regions were covered. ‘All areas will get a proportion of aid dependent on what category they fall under,’ she said. ‘We are quite happy with this, but are now calling for responses from councils’ European officers.’ Councils eligible for the European Union funding fall into two categories, the first covering areas with a low level of GDP and the other taking account of factors such as employment rate, skill levels and number of incapacity claimants.
