Extracts from second reading debate (Commons) of the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill - Sep 14
Tuesday, 15 September 2020 08:28
Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab):...My second devolution objection
relates to funding and state aid. When Britain was in the European
Union, less well-off areas, such as south Wales, benefited
substantially from EU structural funds, the European regional
development fund and the social fund in particular. My
constituency, like many others, benefited enormously. The
Government have proposed a shared prosperity fund to replace the
structural funds. The Bill gives a legal base for that fund,
but...Request free trial
(Caerphilly) (Lab):...My second devolution objection
relates to funding and state aid. When Britain was in the European
Union, less well-off areas, such as south Wales, benefited
substantially from EU structural funds, the European regional
development fund and the social fund in particular. My
constituency, like many others, benefited enormously. The
Government have proposed a shared prosperity fund to replace the
structural funds. The Bill gives a legal base for that fund, but
significantly, the Bill gives exclusive power to the UK Parliament
and the UK Government to decide where and how that money is spent.
Previously, the devolved institutions had a real say in how
European money was spent in their areas. What I think will happen
is that resources will not go to poor areas—the areas of need—but
will be allocated according to Tory central Government priorities.
That is structurally and morally wrong...
(Rhondda) (Lab):...There is another fib at the heart of
the Bill, which is that it purports to say that there is going to
be lots of extra money for constituents like mine in the devolved
areas of the country. I do not think we will get a single extra
penny, because we have been waiting for the shared prosperity fund for weeks
and months and years, and not a single word has yet been published
about it...
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