UK Shared Prosperity
Fund
(Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (Ind)
What recent discussions he has had with (a) the Welsh Government
and (b) Cabinet colleagues on the UK shared prosperity fund.
(Caerphilly) (Lab)
What recent discussions he has had with the First Minister of
Wales on the UK shared prosperity fund.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales ()
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular
discussions with the First Minister and Welsh Ministers on a
range of issues, including the UK shared prosperity fund. The
Government will continue to engage with the Welsh Government as
we develop the fund’s investment framework for publication.
[V]
From the figures that I have seen, the British Government may
have conflated overrun spend from the previous convergence period
for this financial year with the actual allocation of new money.
Under the previous scheme, Wales would receive nearly £400
million per annum. Is not the reality that the Minister is unable
to guarantee that the shared prosperity fund, when fully
operational, will match that level of investment? Why will he not
just admit that the communities that both the Secretary of State
and I represent in Carmarthenshire are about to get fleeced?
The figures will show that on average Wales is receiving £375
million a year. What the hon. Gentleman may be referring to is
the fact that over a number of years to follow there will still
be some money coming to Wales from the European Union. Of course,
it is absolutely right that that money should be counted towards
the £375 million total, and the Government will guarantee to
ensure that the amount of money to be spent in Wales in future
will be exactly the same, or higher, than the amount that was
spent previously.
[V]
Britain has left the European Union. The transition period has
come to an end. There is no new money coming from the structural
funds. Given that the Government announced the shared prosperity
fund back in 2017, can the Minister at least tell us the
timetable for the introduction of the new fund?
We have already made it very clear and demonstrated that the
amount of money that is going to be spent in Wales when the SPF
comes in will be identical to or higher than the amount of money
that was spent in Wales that came from the European Union. There
has been absolutely no secrecy about that. The way in which the
fund will be managed is subject to discussions at this very
moment, and I would expect full details to be publicised over the
next few months.
(Newport West) (Lab) [V]
Many of my constituents are very sorry to see the hundreds of
millions of pounds of EU funding that Wales received in recent
years come to an end. Our departure from the EU made this
inevitable, and of course I accept this, but they also believe
that the Welsh Government should have full autonomy over their
part of the shared prosperity fund, and I agree, so can the
Minister provide some evidence that this working together is
taking place?
I am sure that the hon. Lady’s constituents will be delighted to
know that hundreds of millions of pounds will continue to be
spent in Wales, and continue to be spent where it is most needed.
I am sure that her constituents would be rather disappointed that
we already know from the Audit Wales report that some of the
money that has gone into, for example, pillar 2 agricultural
funding has not been well spent. I urge her to recommend to her
constituents that they look at the dossier presented by my hon.
Friend the Member for Montgomeryshire (), which demonstrates that millions of pounds of
European Union money that was handled by the Welsh Government was
misspent. When that money becomes British taxpayers’ money, all
partners in British Government, including the Welsh Government
and local authorities with growth deals, will want to make sure
that it is properly spent, and I am sure that her constituents
will agree.
