4. What discussions has the Welsh Government held with the UK Government regarding the relevance of the shared prosperity fund to local authorities in Mid and West Wales? OQ58719

The UK Government has put local authorities across all parts of Wales under immense pressure to try and make a success of a botched scheme beset by delays, inadequate funding and impossible deadlines. I have repeatedly raised these issues with a succession of UK Ministers and will continue to do so.

Thank you very much. It's good to hear that, because as we know, this announcement was made at the beginning of the year, and not only does this new budget undermine the devolution settlement, but it also breaks Brexit promises of not a penny less. The £585 million available to Wales over three years is short as compared to the figure of £375 million available previously through the European structural funds. Local authorities, as you know, have worked very hard within a very tight timescale to present these bids, and the psychodrama that we've seen play out over the last few weeks—three Prime Ministers and four Chancellors in a matter of weeks—has slowed down the process, of course, and authorities are still waiting to hear whether their applications have been successful. So, I'm pleased to hear that you have been putting pressure on, but can we have an assurance that you will continue to urge the Westminster Government to release this funding, which is so badly needed in our local authorities across Wales?

I will continue to press the case with whoever the latest Ministers are with responsibility for this. The return of Michael Gove to the department of levelling up may mean that we don't have a significant delay in doing so, but it was supposed to be the case that within three months of submitting their plans, local government would then have answers from the UK Government. But actually, it isn't just the last three months, because that approval hasn't been made; it's actually even worse, because despite the fact that the shared prosperity fund was first announced in 2017, the fund has not yet got off the ground: not a penny of funding, not a single penny of funding from the shared prosperity fund has reached Wales, whereas the new EU funding programmes would have started almost two years ago, and money would already be flowing in a multi-year framework where you wouldn't have artificial deadlines for spending within financial years that would almost certainly mean money would be spent poorly at the end of one financial year, and if not, it would be unspent and returned to the UK Treasury. There'd be no top-slice for Multiply; again, another egregious transgression onto devolved responsibilities. The challenge is: is the UK Government prepared to meet even the pledges it has now made; the ones it made when it broke its manifesto promises; the ones that leave us over £1 billion worse off? I sincerely hope we have some clarity on the money coming so that decisions are made, but, more than that, so that the UK Government take the opportunity to walk away from the crazy rules they have imposed that will guarantee poor spending, and I believe it will certainly mean that money will go back to the Treasury, and it's certainly not what the promise of so-called 'levelling up' was meant to deliver.

I'm grateful to Cefin Campbell for tabling this question, specifically in relation to the significance of strong inter-governmental relations between the UK, Welsh, and, of course, local governments. Minister, on the topic of inter-governmental discussions, I'm sure you and your colleagues will be aware of the transformational bid for the Celtic freeport. If selected, freeport status in south-west Wales will accelerate major investment in Wales's low-carbon economy and offer a substantial development platform for new green industries. This vision won't just secure Wales and the UK's energy security, but it will unleash the economic benefits of floating offshore wind, hydrogen production and carbon capture, generating thousands of new high-quality and highly skilled jobs. Given that these are critical components to establishing a resilient decarbonised twenty-first century Welsh economy, can I ask if the Minister shares my passion for a Celtic sea freeport, and the subsequent benefits it brings? Diolch.

The freeports discussion was difficult, but it did ultimately conclude in agreement between the Welsh Government, with our responsibilities, and the UK Government. It's a model where there's shared decision-making responsibilities between equal decision makers, and the good thing about that is it moved on from a very unfortunate and unproductive scale of shouting, saying, 'It's all the Welsh Government's fault this hasn't happened.' When we actually had genuine decision-making Minister to decision-making Minister conversations, we were able to reach an agreement we could all live with, and that includes, of course, devolved concerns around fair work being part of the framework, and that's in stark contrast to the shared prosperity fund.

On your specific point and question around a specific bid for the freeports programme, I'm sure the Member will understand that I can't give him any kind of indication of support, because I will be the decision-taking Minister from the Welsh Government point of view, and I won't prejudice my decision, because I am aware that other bids are being made, and I look forward to seeing the detail of them.