BRITAIN may be in the middle of an economic boom but large parts of East Lancashire are still suffering from high unemployment, social deprivation and industrial decline - factors that put them firmly on Europe's list for millions of pounds of regional aid grants to help them recover.

But are they on the government's list?

Amazingly, the answer is "Yes" and "No." For while parts of our region are crying out for regeneration - and have projects begging for the cash so they can get started - Cabinet ministers squabble over how the Euro money is shared out.

Not only has this meant an unnecessary postponement, it means that areas of East Lancashire - Blackburn, Darwen and the Ribble Valley - that we know had been earmarked earlier for these vital grants could now, in effect, be robbed of their share by latecomer councils, which were previously not included, now exploiting the delay in order to get their projects on the list.

For we discover that Preston, backed by Lancashire County Council, is among other North West councils seeking to gazump those in our region.

All this results from a clash between the minister for the regions, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, and Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers over the European Commission's draft proposals for grants to areas eligible for aid from the EU's Social Fund.

Mr Byers put the whole of Blackburn with Darwen and the Ribble Valley on his list. But Mr Prescott wanted to target much smaller parts of towns and objected to some of the areas chosen by his Cabinet colleague.

It may be that these ministers and their advisers have different ideas as to the nature of deprivation but we do not think that areas of East Lancashire that are suffering from it - and have already have had it recognised at ministerial level - can afford to wait while these adversaries agree. And they certainly cannot afford to lose out altogether.

Prime Minister Tony Blair was today reported to be considering cutting short ministers' holidays so that urgent tasks are completed. Here are two ministers with an urgent task to complete. They should be ordered to get on with it - and with the proviso that deprived East Lancashire is not deprived in the process of the Euro grants it had already been lined up for.

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