Written question WQ83015

The UK Government is yet to publish details of successful bids to its pilot Shared Prosperity Fund (the Community Renewal Fund) and the Levelling-Up Fund despite stating its intention to do so by 22 July.

Furthermore, we understand that the UK Government has delayed the publication of the longer-term Shared Prosperity Fund framework from this summer until later in the year despite the fund being announced in 2017, and with EU funding having tailed off since December last year.

These UK Government schemes offer inadequate investment and significant uncertainty over the quantum and distribution of funding due to Welsh local authorities being forced into competition, and other sectors being disadvantaged from accessing the funds.

These arrangements are therefore likely to result in small amounts of money spread thinly across the country and an incoherent delivery landscape for programmes and services which risks duplication, ‘patchwork’ provision, blurred accountability and poor value for money.

The UK Government has consistently rejected meaningful collaboration with the Welsh Government on this matter, and has also not commissioned any output indicators or evaluation for these funding schemes to date.

On this basis, and given the ongoing delays and uncertainties regarding this funding, it is currently not feasible to set a firm timetable on when an effective assessment of the impact of these funding arrangements can be carried out.