3. Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance: Update on European Transition

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:04 pm on 18 September 2018.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 3:04, 18 September 2018

Well, Llywydd, diolch yn fawr. The Member began by saying that he was no better informed about Brexit, and I think the rest of his contribution allowed us to see how true he was in how he opened. [Laughter.] It will come, I am sure, as good news to people in Wales that, when their driving licences don't work in the European Union, the Conservative Party doesn't mind, that, when they're left waiting, as they will be—. These are not my ideas, by the way; these are the documents published by your Government. That's what their documents last week said. They said, if there is no deal, your driving licence will not work. They said, if there is no deal, you will queue every time you cross a border in the European Union, where you do not queue today. They said that while now you are guaranteed to have no roaming charges, by legislation of the European Union you will not have that protection in the future. But we've heard this afternoon that that really will not matter.

The Member said that there had been no impact from Brexit on the UK economy so far. The UK economy is 2 per cent smaller, Llywydd, than it would have been had we not made the decision to leave the European Union. That costs every household in Wales £900. That's the impact already. It is nonsensical to say that the decision has been cost-free in economic terms, and, again, that is the advice that the UK Government publishes through the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Now, the Member said that I hadn't mentioned the JMC that took place last week. In fact, it dealt with exactly the three issues that were covered in my statement. We talked about the deal that the Prime Minister wishes to take as a result of Chequers and the barriers that exist to successful delivery of it, we talked about preparations for 'no deal', and we talked about the legislative impact of leaving the European Union on the House of Commons, on the Scottish Parliament, on the National Assembly for Wales, and how we can work together to try to mitigate that impact. I'm certain that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will be very grateful for the fraction of the Conservative Party's support that she enjoys here in the National Assembly. It will come as a welcome change to her, no doubt, from the difficulties she faces on her own benches.

The Member asked me a small number of questions at the end. On procurement, he will know that I announced a review of our procurement policies last year precisely in order to take account of the impact of Brexit. I issued a number of written statements on progress in that review over the summer period, and we will look to see where there may be some opportunities that we can take in Wales to realign our procurement policies in the post-Brexit world.

The Member asked me how many members of the European transition team we now have working in the UK Government—in the Welsh Government, rather. There are 30 members of staff currently employed on those matters. The First Minister referred to the nearly 200 additional members of staff we will need to take on to work on these things, particularly in the field of agriculture and environment.

In relation to the EU transition fund, we have made one tranche of allocations already. A second tranche of allocations will be made very shortly indeed. It will reflect the same broad pattern. There will be allocations that will directly support the rural economy, there will be allocations that will directly support preparation by businesses in Wales, we will find additional help for the higher education sector, and we will invest in the capacity of our third sector to be prepared for the impact of Brexit on the work that they do.