(Glasgow Shettleston)
(SNP): Over the years, Scotland has benefited greatly
from European structural funds—by something like €900 million in
the past five years. There has been talk of a UK
shared prosperity fund to
replace EU structural funds. Can you update us on that?
(Renfrewshire South)
(SNP): I cannot, because there has
been no update from the UK Government. We have feared that
a
shared prosperity fund would be
held to itself by the UK Government and that the role of the
devolved Administrations in, for example, regional funding, would
be removed. There are indications that that might be the
intention of the UK Government, but we do not know for certain.
It goes back a long way; a proposal for a shared prosperity fund first
emerged in the 2017 Tory manifesto. I had a discussion with
when he was Secretary
of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, in
which he promised me that there would be a consultation. He
said that at the earliest in autumn 2017, but nothing has
happened since. It is problematic for all the people who are
and have been drawing down social funding, regional funding and
a variety of other funding that no replacement exists. However,
I suspect that a rabbit, wearing the UK Government’s colours,
will be pulled out of a hat, and the devolved Administrations
will be told that they have no role. That would be utterly
unacceptable.
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