6. What discussions has the Welsh Government had regarding the operation of the proposed shared prosperity fund? OAQ54640

Llywydd, this fund was a Conservative Party manifesto commitment in 2017, at an election in which that party failed to secure a majority. In our discussions since then, including through the Joint Ministerial Committee on Europe, the UK Government’s plans have been repeatedly delayed and repeatedly held in secret.

Thank you, First Minister. I was more than a little concerned to read briefings from the last Queen's Speech that suggested that the shared prosperity fund, which will replace EU structural funding, will be approached within the context of English devolution. Hopefully, an election will bring about a change of approach in Westminster, but, in light of the importance of any successor scheme to Wales, do you agree with me that decisions regarding the operation of the fund should be made in Wales to ensure maximum benefit to people in constituencies like Cynon Valley?

Llywydd, I thank Vikki Howells for that. She's right to say that there were references in the background papers to the Queen's Speech to the UK prosperity fund. They appeared on page 91 and 92 of the background papers—you can see just how important it was to the UK Government to make a lot of that. Now, we have said time and time again that when we ever see details of the shared prosperity fund then there must be not a penny lost and not a power stolen from this National Assembly. The fact that those references late in the document are entirely cast in the context of English devolution seems to me to be a further very bad sign of what we can expect if and when such plans ever did emerge. And can I say, Llywydd, that the urgency of resolving this matter is moving from being just a theoretical issue to a real practical issue too? We have no replacement funding for the current EU programmes after 1 January 2020, and the UK Government's budget for 2020-21 has nothing in the final quarter of that financial year to make good the money that Wales will lose, money that Members in this Chamber assured people in Wales that there was an absolute guarantee we would not be losing. And, if there is such an absolute guarantee, why does that money not appear anywhere in the budget published by the UK Government for the financial year 2020-21, when that money will be required on 1 January that year? We've had months and years now of dither and delay. It's time it was over and Wales needs to have the promises made to it actually delivered.