1. What assessment has the Minister made of the future of community regeneration initiatives in the event of the UK leaving the European Union? OAQ(5)0013(CC)

I thank the Member for his question. People and communities across Wales are clearly benefiting from UK membership of the European Union, through jobs that rely on free access to the single market and through guaranteed EU funding. Those jobs and the £500 million communities in Wales receive every year from the EU will be at risk if the UK were to leave the European Union.

The Minister will be aware that Wales received £2.4 billion from the structural funds in the current period, some quarter of the total for the United Kingdom, and more than all of the other devolved assemblies—London, Scotland and Northern Ireland—put together. Would the Secretary agree with me that this reflects one of the core values of the European project, namely, solidarity between the nations and regions of the European Community, to use its original name, and this compares extremely unfavourably with the attitude of UK Governments, be that Thatcher’s Government, which actually removed regional policy as one of its first actions in 1979, or the Blair Government, which rejected match funding for the Objective 1 programme until this Senedd rebelled by removing Alun Michael? Wouldn’t it be a self-destructive act of foolishness for this small European nation to put any faith in the mandarins of Whitehall or the masters at Westminster to look after the future of our communities?

I think the people of the UK and the people of Wales should be very clear tomorrow—the Welsh Government has been very clear in our view in terms of that being part of the EU is vital for Wales’s prosperity. Our assessment is that, if the UK votes to leave, Welsh communities will be worse off. Communities need business investment and a skilled workforce to thrive. So, let us not underestimate the power of the vote tomorrow to remain in to secure the investment and future of Wales—it is an important one.

Cabinet Secretary, many community regeneration projects within my constituency have been supported by EU funding, from Briton Ferry and Sandfields up to the Afan valley. They vary from supporting people moving back into work to building centres for community activities. These have been essential to strengthening those communities. However, many now face further challenges due to austerity from the UK Government, and the loss of EU funding will hit our most vulnerable communities even harder. Do you agree with me that the vote to remain tomorrow is a vote for helping our communities to take a more positive step forward?

Indeed. Communities across Wales are benefiting from millions of EU funds—over £500 million annually. The regeneration of many towns and communities across Wales is being supported—Pontypridd, Llanelli, Rhyl, just to name a few. The EU-backed Swansea innovation campus is expected to create £10 billion of economic impact in the south-west region in the next 10 years. All will have been put at risk unnecessarily if we leave tomorrow.

Question—. Mark Isherwood.

Diolch. First time I’ve been described as a question, but I’m very happy to be described by such an eloquent person as yourself.

The European Commission planned to allocate structural funds for the period of 2014-20 to Wales, including a 27 per cent cut, indicating a lack of knowledge of Wales. The UK Government allocated some of the funding from England to rebalance some of that shortfall, but west Wales and the Valleys still suffered a 16 per cent cut, indicating, or demonstrating, perhaps, that the Commission’s lack of knowledge shows that Wales would be better out of the UK, with the future funding for these types of projects determined by politicians accountable to the Welsh electorate on our island in London and Cardiff. How, therefore, do you respond to the statement by Labour MP John Mann—hardly an extreme right-winger—that, if you’re a Labour voter, you can proudly vote on Labour values to leave the European Union?

I can see clearly why you’re sitting so close to your colleagues in UKIP. Let me tell the Member—let me remind the Member of the constituency he represents in Ynys Môn. Let me just remind him that £10 million of EU funding for the skills and employment and employees project will help 500 businesses and 7,000 people across north Wales. Did he know that EU funds helped employees from Wylfa power station gain new skills and find new employment opportunities? The Member is putting all of that at risk and he should remember that when he goes to the ballot box.