UK Government unveiled its Shared Prosperity Fund this week with immediate claims it fails to match the money Wales would have received from the EU.
Communities in Wales will get £585 million of funding over the next three years in a move UK Government says will support 'levelling-up'. Of that £101m is already allocated for an adult numeracy programme, Multiply, which will support people with no or low-level maths skills get back into work.
But Welsh Government say Westminster has failed to keep a promise to match EU funds of £375m a year - with Wales left £1bn short over a five year cycle.
UK Government says it will match those funds per year by March 2025.
Meanwhile funding allocations will be decided in London and funding decisions made by elected leaders in local government, with input from local MPs and local businesses and voluntary groups.
They said bureaucracy will be slashed, and there will be far more discretion over what money is spent on. EU requirements for match funding, which impacted on poorer places, will be abolished.
But it cuts out the elected Government of Wales who wanted a joint approach to how the money was spent, something supported by business groups in Wales like the FSB as well the public according to recent polling.
Breakdown of allocation by Welsh regions:
- £126 million for North Wales
- £42 million for Mid Wales
- £138 million for South West Wales
- £279 million for South East Wales.
Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove said: “We have taken back control of our money from the EU and we are empowering those who know their communities in Wales best to deliver on their priorities.
“The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will help to unleash the creativity and talent of communities that have for too long been overlooked and undervalued.
“By allocating more than half a billion pounds for communities up and down Wales, we will help to spread opportunity, increase prosperity and level up every corner of the UK.”
Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart said: “This is a huge boost for people across Wales, who will now have access to this fund to level up their communities and make decisions about where they want to see the money spent. The Shared Prosperity Fund will bind together the whole of the UK, while tackling inequality and deprivation across all four nations.
“I’m sure that the proposals for spending the fund will lead to substantive improvements to people’s lives in Wales, especially in areas where there is the greatest need.
“People in every nation and region want to see politicians acting together on the common challenges we all face and I look forward to working closely with the Welsh Government.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Despite the manifesto promises made by the UK Government, post-EU funds leave Wales with less say, over less money. It remains the case that Wales will lose more than £1bn that could have been used to grow the economy and support some of our most disadvantaged communities.
“The Welsh Government has consistently called for a joint approach. In recent weeks, we have engaged in intensive talks with the UK Government to try and secure a pragmatic way forward.
"Although there has been some movement, the funding plans set out today simply do not reflect the needs of Welsh communities. We are concerned that far too little will reach those communities most in need. The Welsh Government suggested an alternative formula which would distribute funding more fairly across Wales according to economic need, but this was rejected by the UK Government. The result of this is that funding has been moved away from our most disadvantaged communities.
“We will now work with local government partners and stakeholders to maximise the opportunities that exist for programmes that will support our mission to create a stronger, fairer and greener Wales.”
Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville Roberts said: "Just like decisions about Wales should be made in Wales, funding allocated to Wales should be spent by the government of Wales – not by Westminster and its out-of-touch Tory Minister.
“The Tories promised in 2019 to replace EU cash with a programme that was ‘fairer’ and better tailored to Wales’ economy. They have broken that promise.
“Already below what was promised and failing to even match EU funding, this so-called Shared Prosperity Fund will leave Wales and our communities £1bn worse off.
“The Westminster Government has also resisted increasing regional support in line with the unprecedented inflation they are overseeing - which is exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis and squeezing household budgets, as well as those of our local authorities and the Welsh Government.
“And where EU funding to Wales was allocated to communities by our government according to need, this post-EU regional funding regime depends on the ‘input’ of and advocacy by MPs at a time when the Westminster Government is cutting the number of Welsh MPs by a fifth.
“By dividing Wales into 22 separate economic regions, reducing the number of MPs, and cutting corners with funding, Westminster is setting the scheme up to fail.”
