The Scottish Affairs Committee will examine what
the Shared Prosperity fund means for Scotland, including how the
recent Spending Review affects the delivery of the Fund and
nation’s allocation.
From next year, the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) is set to
replace European Structural and Investment Funds which support
some of Scotland’s most deprived areas and is worth up to €872
million to Scotland over the last seven years. However, details
of how the fund might be managed remained scarce until the 25
November Spending Review.
During the Review, Chancellor outlined some of the fund’s priorities, or ‘heads of
terms’, which includes investment in communities and skills to
meet local needs. The Chancellor confirmed that funding ‘will at
least match current EU receipts to an average of £1.5 billion per
year’ across the UK. There was also a £220 million to bridge the
gap between the end of UK access to EU structural funds in
January and the delayed introduction of the Shared Prosperity
Fund later in 2021.
Despite the announcements in the Spending Review, there are still
concerns over the lack of detail on the SPF and ambiguity over
whether the devolved administrations will be responsible for
spending the fund in their own nations. Less than a week before
the Spending Review on 19 November, the Scottish Government
published its own vision of how the Shared Prosperity Fund should
be directed. The Committee will also examine how Scotland’s
priorities will be incorporated into the final plans for Fund.
Yesterday, the Welsh Affairs Committee published the Government’s
response to its own inquiry into the Shared
Prosperity Fund. The Committee’s chair said, ‘we
still require certainty about the total size of the fund, how it
will be distributed’.
Commenting on the inquiry, Scottish Affairs Committee
Chair MP said: “Without an effective Shared
Prosperity Fund to replace current EU funding, community projects
and economic development in the poorest areas of Scotland could
be stifled.
As yet, we have too little information on how the Shared
Prosperity Fund will operate in the Scottish context. How much
will it be worth? How will it be spent? Who will be responsible
for administering it in Scotland? Through this inquiry, we intend
to answer these important questions.”
Terms of Reference
The Committee will accept evidence submissions through its
website until 26 January on
the following issues:
-
What are the implications of the financial assistance
powers in the Internal Market Bill and the announcements made
by the UK Government in the 2020 Spending Review for the
delivery of the Shared Prosperity Fund in Scotland?
