Community Renewal Fund
(Vale of Clwyd) (Con)
1. What assessment the Government have made of the potential
outcomes of the £46 million community renewal fund allocated to
Wales.
The Secretary of State for Wales ()
Wales is receiving £46 million under the UK community renewal
fund, 23% of the funding total, and 165 projects are being funded
across Wales, including 14 in Denbighshire worth almost £3
million.
Dr Davies
Two weeks ago, as my right hon. Friend says, £2.9 million was
announced from the community renewal fund for 14 projects in
Denbighshire, including Blossom & Bloom, a charity in Rhyl
that can now support 20 more mothers and babies. Of course, the
community renewal fund is there to help communities prepare for
the introduction of the shared prosperity fund. Will he outline
what discussions he is having about that fund and whether
capital, as well as revenue, will be available?
My hon. Friend raises a very good question, and I hope he will
take into account that we are looking at the levelling-up fund,
the community renewal fund and the community ownership fund, as
well as the shared prosperity fund, in the round, and other
potential funding proposals, too. When he sees the detail, I hope
he will see that we address both capital and revenue.
Levelling-up Fund and Shared Prosperity Fund
(Midlothian) (SNP)
2. What comparative assessment he has made of the equity of
allocations from the (a) levelling-up fund and (b) shared
prosperity fund to Wales and the rest of the UK.
(Edinburgh East) (SNP)
4. What comparative assessment he has made of the equity of
allocations from the (a) levelling-up fund and (b) shared
prosperity fund to Wales and the rest of the UK.
The Secretary of State for Wales ()
Wales is benefiting greatly from local growth funding, receiving
above its population share from all three funds: 7% in the first
round of the levelling-up fund, 9% in the first round of the
community ownership fund and a remarkable 23% of the UK community
renewal fund.
The principle behind the funds is fine, but the prioritisation of
Tory-held seats in both Scotland and Wales reveals them to be
just another example of pork barrel politics. Instead of meddling
in devolved areas, will the Secretary of State accept that it
would be beneficial to the people of the devolved nations to have
greater control of decision making to do things for themselves?
The Government should devolve more, instead of fiddling in
devolved areas.
I hope the hon. Gentleman is able to endorse what I am about to
say because, of course, that is exactly what these funds do. For
the first time, 22 local authorities in Wales and other
stakeholders are having a say in devolution. The Welsh Government
do not have a monopoly of wisdom any more than the UK Government
do, and we are taking devolution to its dictionary definition. He
will probably know this but, under the UK community renewal fund,
Labour areas got 44% of the funding, Plaid Cymru areas got 24%,
independent areas got 17% and Conservative areas were fourth at
15%.
Let us be clear that independent estimates tell us that, over the
next five years, the difference between what the devolved
Administrations would have got through structural funds and what
they will get through the shared prosperity fund is £4 billion.
Will the Secretary of State stop promulgating this myth, this
deception, that there will be no difference as a result of
leaving the EU and admit that this is just another Brexit broken
promise?
We are hearing a Brexit broken record, to be honest. The
settlement for Wales has gone from £15.9 billion to £18 billion,
plus £120 million from the levelling-up fund, plus £47 million
from the community renewal fund, plus the community ownership
fund, plus more than £300 million-worth of EU tail-off funds,
plus £337 million of agriculture funding. It is impossible to
come to any conclusion other than that this has been a fantastic
settlement for Wales.
(Wrexham) (Con)
Wrexham was fortunate enough to win one of its two levelling-up
fund bids, and Wrexham County Borough Council has committed to
redefining the other bid and working with officials. Will the
Secretary of State let me and the council know when round 2 of
the levelling-up fund will be open for bids?
It will be open in the early part of next year. Any local
authority that was not successful in the first round will have a
chance to discuss its bid with officials to see how the
application can be nuanced to achieve success next year.
(Montgomeryshire) (Con)
Montgomeryshire has not seen such a level of investment for
decades. I welcome the Secretary of State’s levelling-up fund and
community renewal fund—the list goes on. Mid-Wales has never seen
such investment, and I implore him to continue with this proper
devolution of working with local councils and asking local people
about their priorities, and to get more investment into
mid-Wales.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right that every single area of
Wales has benefited from these schemes, which was not the case
under the previous funding arrangements. It has been a joy to
have the feedback and contributions we have had from local
authorities across Wales, which really welcome and are getting
engaged with this process.
(Llanelli) (Lab)
You would never guess, would you, Mr Speaker, that the allocation
of funding can be quite controversial? However, with meaningful
consultation, we can reduce the risk of that. Let us suppose that
two thirds of the levelling-up fund was allocated to the one
third of seats held by Tory MPs in Wales. We could ensure less
risk of things being called political bias. In the light of the
Institute for Government’s recommendation that the UK Government
should consult the Welsh Government at every stage on the shared
prosperity fund, and bearing in mind the scathing report by the
Public Accounts Committee on the allocation of the towns fund,
what in-depth discussions has the Secretary of State had with the
Welsh Government on the shared prosperity fund, and when can we
expect more information?
The hon. Lady fixates a bit too much on the shared prosperity
fund when there are so many other funding sources out there too.
Aside from stressing that there is consultation on a range of
these things, and I am hoping to meet the First Minister later
this week to discuss them, I remind the hon. Lady that the Welsh
Government are not the only game in town; we are engaging with
more people, in more parts of Wales, than has ever been the case
before, and the funding settlements reflect their priorities as
much as anything else. I am astonished that she is not welcoming
that.
I am sure the House will be well aware that the Welsh Government
have always had a strong relationship with the local government
sector in Wales and have always consulted on the sharing out of
EU funds. Turning to the amount of those funds, the figures are
indisputable: EU funding for Wales would have meant at least £375
million in new money for this year. So with just £46 million for
the community renewal fund, the Tories are leaving Wales £330
million worse off, and that is not even counting the £137 million
cut in the farm support. So will the Secretary of State now stand
up for Wales and pledge that in this transition to the shared
prosperity fund Wales will receive not a penny less than we had
under EU funding?
I think you would probably reprimand me if I went through all the
numbers again, Mr Speaker, so I will have to leave it to the
Official Report to enable the hon. Lady to check her figures and
work out exactly how well Wales has done with the record
settlement. It is beholden on the shadow Secretary of State for
Wales to portray a rather more optimistic picture of the future
of Wales. If we are interested in attracting investment and
creating jobs in Wales, she should be championing our country,
not denigrating it at every opportunity she has.
Levelling-up Fund: Project Delivery
(Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)
3. What recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government
on the progress of the delivery of projects funded by the
levelling-up fund in Wales.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales ()
The UK Government are fully focused on levelling up the whole of
the United Kingdom, through programmes such as the levelling-up
fund. We are working closely and directly with local authorities
and other local partners right across the UK to ensure that those
are delivered quickly and successfully.
Is the Minister aware that Barry in my constituency and the whole
of the Vale of Glamorgan did not qualify for European funds? Does
he therefore accept that the levelling-up fund is a potential
game changer for the Vale of Glamorgan? May I draw his attention
to the excellent proposal for a marina for Barry, which would
also recover some land to make available for appropriate
development? May I also ask him to pay particular attention when
this application comes in?
My right hon. Friend has long been a doughty champion of this
scheme, as he has of many other schemes, including the seven UK
community renewal fund projects that are going to be delivered in
the Vale of Glamorgan and are worth more than £1 million. I
simply say to him that we would encourage as many good-quality
bids as possible from the Vale of Glamorgan and other local
authorities in Wales.
(Cardiff North) (Lab)
On climate action, the UK must step up to provide the funding
that is needed across the whole of Wales. Despite the lack of the
funding that we would have seen from the EU, the Welsh Labour
Government are already delivering on renewable energy and
sustainable transport and achieving the third best recycling
rates in the world. Will the Secretary of State tell us what
discussions he is having with his Welsh Government counterparts
to discuss more climate investment?
I am delighted to answer that, because in addition to all the
many programmes that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State
has mentioned—the UK community renewal fund, the shared
prosperity fund and the levelling-up fund—we also have the growth
deals, which are delivering the very kinds of environmental
projects to which the hon. Lady has just referred. Of course the
growth deals are funded 50% by the UK Government and 50% by the
Welsh Government, who will be receiving an extra £2.5 billion
next year as a result of the most generous settlement they have
ever had.
(Clwyd West) (Con)
There is tremendous enthusiasm for the levelling-up fund in both
Denbighshire and Conwy, where the local authorities are champing
at the bit to put in their bids. So will my hon. Friend please
indicate when the second round is likely to open?
I can indeed: it will be in the spring of next year. We look
forward to receiving bids from my right hon. Friend’s local
authority and local authorities throughout the rest of Wales.
Shared Prosperity Fund
(Ogmore) (Lab)
9. What recent discussions he has had with the First Minister of
Wales on the shared prosperity fund.
(Stockton North) (Lab)
11. What recent discussions he has had with the First Minister of
Wales on the shared prosperity fund.
Mr Speaker
Is there anybody on the Front Bench with an answer?
The Secretary of State for Wales ()
Mr Speaker, the answer will be worth waiting for, I promise
you.
I am hoping to meet the First Minister with the Secretary of
State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in Cardiff later
this week to discuss how we can best support jobs and economic
growth in Wales, including through the various initiatives
announced at the autumn Budget.
I am glad that the Secretary of State is with us and awake; that
is always nice to see.
Let me return to the shared prosperity fund, rather than
levelling up, because the Secretary of State did not actually
answer my question. We have seen months and years of dither and
delay, and today we have heard questions from the hon. Member for
Wrexham () and the right hon. Member
for Clwyd West (Mr Jones) about when the shared prosperity fund
will be delivered and when we will have dates for local
authorities so that they can plan. Will the Secretary of State
simply set out when the shared prosperity fund will be confirmed,
when the dates for bidding will take place and when local
government will get the information it needs in order to bid for
this long overdue funding?
In my conversations with 22 local authorities, they take a much
more benign approach to the funding streams than the hon.
Gentleman. He obsesses about the UK shared prosperity fund. We
have been clear about when that is coming through, with further
announcements this year and into next. He deliberately ignores
the levelling-up fund, the community renewal fund, the community
ownership fund and all the other funds that have been such a
success in Wales. I say to him what I said to the hon. Member for
Llanelli (): it would be a whole lot better for future
investors and job creation if he spent a little more time
championing Wales and a little less time criticising it.
Well, the Secretary of State dodged that question, just as he
dodged Question 1. He knows that there is a real dearth of
information on the Government’s shared prosperity fund, which
needy communities across Wales desperately want. The same
communities drove real change with the European social
fund—probably a better levelling-up fund than the Government
could ever deliver. This is the Secretary of State’s second
chance: when are we going to get the detail and the dates, so
that in Wales and across the rest of the country we can get on
with planning to spend the shared prosperity fund?
I have repeated the answer to this question on countless
occasions this morning. We are looking at a whole range of
funding provisions in Wales. The Chancellor was able to provide a
record settlement; this is the best settlement for the Welsh
Government and local authorities for 20-plus years, and the hon.
Gentleman should be acknowledging that.
We have actually stuck to the timescales that we have set out on
numerous occasions in Welsh and other questions. The hon.
Gentleman really does need to change the record. We are now
witnessing record sums of money going into parts of Wales which
never even qualified before; that is something that we should be
championing, rather than denigrating.
Levelling-up Fund: Potential Outcomes
(Clwyd South) (Con)
10. What assessment the Government have made of the potential
outcomes of the £121 million levelling-up fund allocated to
Wales.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales ()
Wales will benefit significantly from the levelling-up fund, with
projects focused on delivering jobs, promoting growth and
levelling up communities. In Denbighshire and Wrexham, including
in my hon. Friend’s constituency of Clwyd South, communities will
benefit from over £16.4 million in UK Government investment
through round 1 of the levelling-up fund and the community
renewal fund.
How would the Minister assess the long-term economic, social and
cultural impact of, and benefits arising from, the levelling-up
fund in Wales, particularly our Clwyd South bid, which he has
mentioned, which will send a great deal of badly needed
investment into the world heritage site at the Trevor basin,
projects in Llangollen and Chirk, and a steam railway in and
around Corwen?
The successful levelling-up fund bid at the Pontcysyllte aqueduct
and the canal world heritage centre will obviously maximise
tourism in the area and provide significant long-term economic
benefits to my hon. Friend’s constituency. However, it is just
one small part of a much larger programme including the £121
million levelling-up fund, the £46 million community renewal fund
and £2.5 billion extra money in a record block grant for the
Welsh Labour Government, showing that this Government are
committed to strengthening the Union, supporting Wales, and
ensuring that jobs and prosperity flow to all parts of the United
Kingdom.
(Rhondda) (Lab)
One of the problems that we have in the Rhondda is a large number
of disused former coal tips, one of which, as the Minister knows,
slid down into the river last year. It cost us £14 million to
rectify that, and we have another five similar tips in the
Rhondda. Can we please have some more money to ensure that we do
not have another Aberfan disaster?
The hon. Gentleman will be aware that, as I said earlier, this is
a devolved matter. He will also be aware that more than £2.5
billion of extra money has been provided to the Welsh Labour
Government. If there are dangerous coal tips in the hon.
Gentleman’s constituency, I urge him to talk to his colleagues in
Welsh Labour, ask them to provide the money and get the problem
resolved as quickly as possible.
