Almost £200 million of European regeneration funding that had already been allocated to Merseyside may have been stopped following Brexit.
The Government is expected to clarify within the next few days whether or not the region will still receive £190 million worth of Brussels’ cash which was part of the 2014 to 2020 EU investment programme.
The Government announcement which is expected to be made later this week, will cover a total of £3 billion of European investment that had been earmarked for the whole of the UK.
Newspaper reports today have suggested that the British Government has already suspended payments from the European Development Fund.
The EU had agreed to invest its cash before the referendum took place however the UK are expected to leave the EU before the end of the programme which has raised the prospect that some of the money will need to be returned.
Europe’s funding rules also mean that national governments are required to match Brussels’ spending with their own money.
It has been reported that the UK Government may want to withhold this cash to balance its own books ahead of leaving the EU.
In a statement HM Treasury said: “The UK remains a member of the EU and that means there is no immediate change to EU programmes.
“We recognise however the need to bring any uncertainty to an end as soon as possible and we have been working urgently to understand the future implications to programmes. We will make an announcement on the short-term arrangements for EU funding soon.”