Programmes Funded by the EU

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:37 pm on 17 November 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:37, 17 November 2020

Well, Llywydd, that is a major concern for not just the Welsh Government but all the partners that we have across Wales and who have worked with us so carefully, led very often by our colleague Huw Irranca-Davies, in order to devise a regional economic strategy for Wales that will make use of the replacement funds that we were told were guaranteed to be available to us. Now, I quoted the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, Llywydd. I do so because it has a Conservative majority and a Conservative Chair, from Wales, and this is what they said about it:

'The UK Government', they said,

'announced as far back as 2017 that it intended to replace EU funding with a Shared Prosperity Fund...yet details remain scant on key aspects, including how much Wales will receive under the new arrangements, how it will be administered and to whom it will be targeted.'

Its repeated promises of a consultation have failed to materialise, progress has been negligible, and it demonstrates a lack of priority. Well, that simply isn't good enough. These are major issues that matter in every part of Wales, including, as Dai Rees said, in his constituency. People in Wales are entitled to know that the promise that was made to them is going to be kept—not a penny less and not a power stolen. And that's what we will be holding the UK Government to account over.