The impact of this deliberate, brutish attack on Welsh devolution is not even softened by an offer of new additional money for Wales. Last month, the UK Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government in England, Luke Hall, stated that the shared prosperity fund alone will replace EU structural funds at previous levels for Wales. However, the community renewal fund is only worth £220 million across the entire UK this financial year. That represents a huge cut compared to what Wales would have had access to in the EU.

We would have expected at least £375 million each year for new programmes over seven years from January this year. The UK Government has already failed on repeated promises made that Wales would not be a penny worse off. This will deny Wales investment, and the jobs that would have been created if that promise was kept, not just in future years, but right now, at a time when we're still managing our path out of the worst health and economic crisis that we have experienced in peacetime.

Llywydd, the inadequacy of these proposals is firmly matched by the shortcomings in the UK levelling-up fund. A total of £800 million has been set aside for devolved nations over four years, with Wales likely to receive around £10 million each year. For context, that's less than £450,000 per local authority in Wales, confirming there is really no substance behind the levelling-up brand. And it is this lack of substance that partly explains why so many others share our concerns about the proposed EU successor funds.

The devolved Governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland, two all-party parliamentary groups and stakeholders right across Wales have all raised similar concerns. During their evidence to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee just a few weeks ago, the Welsh Local Government Association raised a list of concerns, including the threat to devolution, the insufficient level of funding available, the unnecessary and costly competition, and a real lack of transparency in the process. The WLGA also questioned the exclusion from the priority list of deprived areas such as Gwynedd, Caerphilly, Wrexham and Bridgend, when other plainly more prosperous areas of England are included. It also stressed concerns about the risk to the quality of bids due to the tight bidding and unfeasible spending deadlines. Llywydd, these plans failed to impress the UK Government's own industrial strategy council, which warned against 

'centrally controlled funding pots thinly spread across a range of initiatives'.

Rather than heed those warnings and their honest advice, the UK Government opted to sack the industrial strategy council altogether.

Llywydd, on the basis that they're put, I'm happy to support Plaid Cymru's amendments regarding the UK Government's prioritisation criteria, as the criteria just don't meet our or any objective understanding of economic need or deprivation.

Given the arguments I've already set out, I just don't think there's any substance that supports the amendments put forward by the Welsh Conservatives, which we will not be supporting. The UK funds will mean funding gaps for many sectors, including higher and further education, the third sector and business. These are partners who have previously invested to help close historical gaps in research and development, to provide support to our most vulnerable people in society, and to help boost our competitiveness.

We also have real concerns about the impact of UK Government plans on key strategic interventions, including the Business Wales service, which has been crucial for so many during the crisis. I know that this is a particular concern that has been raised with all Members by Wales Federation of Small Businesses ahead of this debate. Apprenticeships, the Wales business fund and infrastructure investment all relied upon EU funding that is now coming to an end, and are directly threatened by the UK Government proposals. All of those are critical to our COVID recovery, and without adequate successor funding, vital jobs and services are needlessly being put at risk.

To put this into context, nearly a third of apprenticeship funding flows from European Union structural funding. A loss of around £30 million a year means almost 5,300 fewer participants supported each year. Nearly half of the Wales business fund led by the Development Bank for Wales is supported by EU funds. That means hundreds of businesses all across the country not being able to access the financial support needed to grow and create jobs. Threatening these services amounts to a levelling down for Wales. The UK Government's entire approach has proven to be chaotic, unpredictable and needlessly confrontational.

By contrast, our framework for regional investment was co-produced with stakeholders from business, local government, higher and further education, and the third sector. It was also informed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and supported by a public consultation. With a robust evidence-based approach, our framework outlined clear priorities for Wales. It delivers a meaningful transfer of funding and responsibilities to the new statutory corporate joint committees, bringing power and funding closer to communities.

Llywydd, it remains our view that decisions about Wales should be taken in Wales. That is the basis of our position, which has been supported by the people of Wales consistently, including at the Senedd 2021 elections. I hope today that we can unite around that principle across the Senedd.