‘Prosperous’ cabinet ministers’ seats in line for millions of development cash

Seats held by seven cabinet ministers are in line to receive tens of millions of pounds of development cash despite previously being judged as not needing the funds, triggering fresh accusations of bias in “levelling up”.

The constituencies of Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, and Stephen Barclay, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, are on a list of “priority places” ahead of a new £1.5bn annual fund.

Yet all three – plus those of Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis, trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, chief whip Mark Spencer and Robert Jenrick, the former communities minister – had been classed as “most developed” and unlikely to receive grants.

The revelation, from research for The Independent, has provoked a fresh outcry over a post-Brexit shake-up of development spending, after delays that have already swiped around £1.5bn from needy areas this year.

Independent experts warned ministers are ignoring where “need is greatest” and making a mockery of Boris Johnson’s celebrated pledge to level up the country.

Labour accused the government of “funnelling money to richer cabinet ministers’ constituencies”, after similar controversies over different funding pots.

The long-promised UK Shared Prosperity Fund – to replace the loss of the £1.8bn-a-year EU structural funds – is already mired in controversy, after being delayed until next year.

The government promised to match the pre-Brexit grants – to build local economies by attracting businesses and jobs – but even a stopgap £220m fund, for 2021-22, has yet to hand out any money.

A total of 100 “priority places” were announced, across England, Scotland and Wales, for that stopgap UK Community Renewal Fund to help them “prepare” for grants from the £1.5bn Shared Prosperity Fund to follow next year, although other areas will also be eligible.

That list sparked anger by excluding some poorer areas – Liverpool, Sheffield, Knowsley, Carlisle, Plymouth and Preston – that received the EU funds.

Now research by the House of Commons library has revealed that seven cabinet ministers’ seats were in low-priority “most developed” areas under the old scheme – but are now first in line for many millions of pounds each.

They are in the local authorities of Richmondshire, in North Yorkshire (Mr Sunak’s constituency), King’s Lynn & West Norfolk (Ms Truss’s), Fenland, in northeast Cambridgeshire (Mr Barclay’s), Newark and Sherwood, in Nottinghamshire (Mr Spencer’s and Mr Jenrick’s), Northumberland (Ms Trevelyan’s) and Great Yarmouth (Mr Lewis’s).

Of the 49 council areas in England that were considered “most developed” but are now “priority places”, no fewer than 35 have Conservative MPs, or a majority of Conservative MPs.

The New…