The Shared Prosperity Fund

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 3:11 pm on 10 February 2021.

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Photo of Huw Irranca-Davies Huw Irranca-Davies Labour 3:11, 10 February 2021

I wonder if I can ask you, Minister, as well to pay particular regard to the loss of the European social fund and structural funds on our works and skills programmes in Wales. I'm hearing some rather disconcerting rumours—well, they're more than rumours—that there's an intention now with the Department for Work and Pensions to centralise their work programmes. Now, we've had some exemplary work programmes here in Wales, particularly for those hard-to-reach people who need additional support to get into work because of skills and transport and other challenges they face, and we know how to do it. So, it would be disastrous if there was some centralised, Westminster-driven approach to this that reiterated the problems that they had in the 1980s Thatcher-style work programmes. So, could I please ask, Minister, that you make representations that if these programmes are being redesigned, that when they look for partners to deliver these, they use the local authorities and the regional consortiums that have been delivering them on the ground with great success—far better than in England and elsewhere—in the future as well? We're not only losing the money—it's taken away our ability to control what we do with some very important employment and skills programmes.