Cross-border Co-operation within Britain post Brexit

Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General and Brexit Minister (in respect of his Brexit Minister responsibilities) – in the Senedd at 2:25 pm on 4 December 2019.

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Photo of Huw Irranca-Davies Huw Irranca-Davies Labour 2:25, 4 December 2019

One of the key areas of cross-border co-operation post Brexit, but actually post general election, is going to be the extent of engagement between Welsh Government, Wales Office Ministers and also Whitehall departments on the issue of funding streams that have a Wales and UK bite. Now, of course, we have scant details at the moment on the UK shared prosperity fund and, during the course of the election and before, it seems to have gone into hiding in some ways, but the results of the issue of investment in research and innovation that comes from a UK level and also previously from an EU level as well—there is the future of Erasmus and Horizon 2020, there is Whitehall department from business, from energy, from infrastructure that flows and could be flowing into Wales.

So, I'd like to ask the Minister: after the general election is out of the way, will he be immediately knocking on the doors not only of the Wales Office just down the road here, but also in Whitehall departments, to get certainty, and not least, I have to say, over the £370 million per annum that is at risk from the loss of the EU fund at the moment, which we're told will be in the UK shared prosperity funding, but, as the Government has said quite clearly, it's not only the question of making sure that money is available to Wales, but that it's given to Wales and that decisions will be made in Wales in line with the policy framework that we have? But that and other aspects need to be bolted down, because this continuing uncertainty—. Whilst the group that I'm chairing is trying to develop this framework on a national and regional level of future funding within Wales, we really need clarity from the UK Government about what they bring to the table.