Written question WQ87969
- Asked by
- Paul DaviesConservative
- To be answered by
- Minister for Economy
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 11 days
Question
Will the Minister provide an update on the meetings that have taken place in relation to the four regional investment plans for the shared prosperity fund in Wales?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Economy
Since the regional SPF plans were approved in December 2022, two meetings of the Strategic Forum for Regional Investment, chaired by Huw Irranca-Davies MS, have taken place. These have provided a platform for local government and other sectors to exchange information about the progress of the SPF and the predicament, including the closure of programmes and job losses, being faced by many organisations from the loss of EU funds.
There has been fragmentation of the funding landscape caused by the UK Government using the UK Internal Market Act to bypass the Welsh Government and the Senedd on devolved matters. I continue to meet with stakeholders and my officials regularly meet with our partners to reduce the risk of duplication of provision, particularly in skills and business support.
Local authorities in Wales are yet to receive their full funding allocation for 2022-23 as a result of the UK Government withholding around £15m due to issues around the inflexibility of the Multiply adult numeracy scheme.
Wales remains £1.1bn worse off (2021-2025) due to the Shared Prosperity Fund not fully replacing EU Structural and Rural funds.