The UK Government’s decision to bypass the Welsh Government and
directly allocate funding for regional and local development via
UK-wide funds is a clear assault on Welsh devolution and fails to
meet repeated EU referendum promises that Wales “will not be a
penny worse off” outside the EU, Economy Minister said today.
In a Senedd debate on UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund and the
future Shared Prosperity Fund, the Minister said under UK
Government plans “Wales is set to have less say, over less money,
and denies Wales investment and the jobs that would have been
created during a time when we are still managing our path towards
recovery from the Covid pandemic.”
Under UK Government plans:
- The pilot to the Shared Prosperity Fund, called the
Community Renewal Fund, is worth £220m across the UK
in this financial year, representing a huge cut. If the UK had
remained in the EU, Wales would have had new EU Structural
funding worth at least £375m each year for seven years from
January 2021; this would be on top of funding from the current
EU programmes.
- Under the UK-wide £4.8 billion Levelling Up
Fund, a total of £800m has been set aside for Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland over four years, with Wales likely to
receive £10m a year. That’s less than £450,000 per local
authority in Wales, confirming there is no substance behind the
Levelling Up brand.
The Welsh Government has made clear to the UK Government that the
financial assistance powers of the UK Internal Market Act –
powers designed to usurp functions that sit within the competence
of the Senedd and Welsh Government –should only be used in a way
which has been agreed with the Welsh Government.
Speaking in the Senedd, Economy Minister, , said:
“These UK proposals represent a new era of aggressive
centralisation. One that deliver a very clear, message to Wales:
‘you’ll get what you’re given.’
“It’s an approach that provokes division based on an economic
rationale that is difficult to identify, let alone endorse.
“Worse still, this top down, throwback to pre devolution economic
policy is a deliberate assault on Welsh devolution. As things
stand, Wales is set to have less say, over less money.
“The Welsh Government made clear our opposition to the UK
Internal Market Act, arguing that these powers should only be
used in a way which has been agreed with the Welsh Government and
the Senedd.
“The proposed funds are clearly designed to systematically
exclude the Welsh Government. As power grabs go, this one is
about as subtle as an earthquake.
“The impact of this brutish attack on Welsh devolution is not
even softened with an offer of new additional money for Wales.
“It remains our view that decisions about Wales should be taken
in Wales. This is the basis of our position which has been
supported by the people of Wales consistently, including at the
Senedd 2021 elections.”
The Minister also said the Welsh Government has concerns about
the impact of UK Government plans on key strategic interventions
which rely on EU funding that are now coming to an end. These are
critical to Wales’ Covid recovery and, without successor EU
funding from the UK Government, vital jobs and services are being
put at risk.
No successor EU funding to support the all-Wales Apprenticeships
scheme means almost 5,300 fewer participants supported annually.
Nearly half of the Wales Business Fund, led by the Development
Bank for Wales, is supported by EU funds, which will mean many
hundreds fewer businesses receiving financial support to grow and
create jobs.
The Minister added:
“The Welsh Government has a strong renewed mandate for devolution
and to govern on behalf of the people of Wales. Bypassing the
elected institutions of Wales is not just an insult to the people
of Wales, it will clearly result in worse outcomes for Wales.
“If the UK Government is serious about the future prosperity of
Wales, it must provide Wales with a fair share of UK spending,
and work with the Welsh Government and this Senedd not in a
tokenistic way, but as a genuine partner in decision-making and
delivery. It must not attempt to take things back to an outdated
way of working when Westminster supposedly knew best. This will
be counterproductive.”
