Tackling Poverty

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:27 pm on 11 June 2019.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:27, 11 June 2019

Well, I thank the Member for drawing attention to that report. Time and time again, on the floor of this National Assembly—and with support of Plaid Cymru Members as well, I know—we have said that we will not sit idly by and allow a shared prosperity fund to become an excuse for sharing resources that come to Wales today with other parts of the United Kingdom who do not qualify for it as we do on the basis of our need. A Barnett approach to sharing out money is completely unacceptable to us, because Barnett does not reflect need, and the money we get through the European Union comes to Wales because it is assessed on the basis of needs that we have here. We will continue to make that case wherever we have the opportunity. We will make it alongside the Federation of Small Businesses, who recently produced a report saying exactly that, alongside the all-party parliamentary group chaired by Stephen Kinnock, who produced a report saying exactly that, and we will need the support of Members across this Chamber who put the needs of Wales first, to help us in that effort to make sure that when there is money that is available for regional economic development the other side of the European Union, that Wales continues, as we were promised, not to lose out by a single penny.