Extract from Wales
questions
(Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC): On top of the economic hardship
inflicted by the pandemic, there are only 43 days until the end of
the transition period, yet the replacement of key EU funding in
Wales remains shrouded in mystery. The shared prosperity
fundwill reveal where the Government’s principal interests
lie. Does the Secretary of State respect Welsh devolution, and if
so, will he guarantee that funding decisions will be fully
devolved? Anything else will stink of political expediency.
The Secretary of State for Wales (): For the first time in a while, I am rather grateful
for the right hon. Lady’s question, because it enables me to
point out that of course I thoroughly support devolution, but
that does not mean simply transferring power from Westminster to
Cardiff. Devolution means getting decision making done at the
closest possible level to where it matters, which is across
Wales. That is why I have had conversations with local
authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association about the
shared prosperity fund as well as with others,
including the Welsh Government. They should be playing a much
more active part in the decision making and prioritisation of SPF
spending than they have done so far.
Extract from urgent
question on Towns Fund
(Vale of Clwyd) (Con): The towns fund is, of course,
an England-only fund, but the Government’s levelling-up agenda
means supporting towns right across the UK, including Rhyl in my
constituency. Will my right hon. Friend commit to exploring
opportunities for the shared prosperity fund and
other sources of financial assistance to help redevelop Rhyl’s
Queen’s Market?
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local
Government (): My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that the
shared prosperity fund will be a great
opportunity for the whole United Kingdom to come together; for us
to be doing work not dissimilar to the activities of the towns
fund and the high streets fund, investing in skills, transport,
technology and in place in a way we simply have not been able to
do while those funds have been directed through the bureaucracy
and regulation of the European Union. As we design the UK’s
shared prosperity fund and bring it to fruition
in the early part of next year, I will certainly be listening to
my hon. Friend and his colleagues in Wales.
(Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP): I apologise,
Madam Deputy Speaker, but I have to rush off after the Secretary of
State’s answer for a Westminster Hall debate. The Conference of
Peripheral Maritime Regions estimated that Scotland will lose out
on €840 million by 2027 due to the loss of access to EU regional
development funds. Can the Secretary of State confirm that the
funds apportioned to Scotland, assuming that they will be, from the
stronger towns fund and the shared prosperity
fundwill make up that gap and that Scotland will not lose
out on this substantial funding?
: We have made a manifesto commitment that I have
repeated many times in this place that we will be bringing
forward a UK shared prosperity fund. Further
details on that will be set out at the spending review. It will
ensure that all the nations of the United Kingdom receive the
same level of funding in this Parliament as they received from
the EU structural funds that we are moving away from.
(Newcastle
upon Tyne Central) (Lab): It was really distressing to see such
critical funding for our regions mired in political favouritism.
What steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that the
shared prosperity fund does not suffer the same
fate? Will he confirm that the north-east will receive from the
shared prosperity fundat least the £1 billion that
it would have got from the European structural funds?
: As I have already said, a fair and robust procedure
was used to determine the places, and many places adjacent to the
hon. Lady’s constituency have benefited. I think of Blyth, for
example—a community that needed investment. It saw very little of
it under the last Labour Government and will now, I hope, be
benefiting. She represents a great city. That was not the primary
focus of the towns fund, as the name rather suggests.
With the UK shared prosperity fund we will be
ensuring that each of the nations of the United Kingdom receives
the same funding as they did under the EU structural funds. We
fundamentally believe that we can design better, more
outcomes-focused funding streams than the European Union was ever
able to do during our long years of membership. We will bring
forward more details on that very soon.
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