Eluned Morgan says she will hold UK Government's feet to fire on funding promise
Eluned Morgan says she will hold UK Government's feet to fire on funding promise
The First Minister says she has received categorical assurances that control of post EU funding will return to Wales
First Minister Eluned Morgan.
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne )
First Minister Eluned Morgan said she will hold the UK Government's 'feet to the fire' after receiving what she said are categorical assurances that Sir Keir Starmer will follow through on a manifesto pledge of returning the running of post EU structural funding to the Welsh Government.
What became the Shared Prosperity Fund, which will from next year will be known as the Local Growth Fund, was established by the former Tory Government of Boris Johnson as a replacement for the loss of structural funding from the EU following Brexit to some of the most deprived communities in the UK, including the Valleys and west Wales.
EU structural funding was administered by the Welsh Government via the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO). With lobbying from then Welsh Secretary, Alun Cairns, the decision was taken that the post EU funding would bypass the Welsh Government and go straight to local authorities who were able to bid for funding for local based projects.
Sir Keir Starmer first pledged a return of control to the Welsh Government when addressing the Welsh Labour's annual conference in 2023. It was also confirmed in the party's General Election manifesto last year.
Confusion over the role of the Welsh Government in running of the fund was created in the spending review documentation last week from Chancellor Rachel Reeves setting out UK Government departmental spending settlements for the next three financial years starting next April.
It clearly highlighted a role for the Wales Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in partnership with the Welsh Government on post EU structural funding.
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It says: 'As one of the representatives for the nations, the Wales Office will work with the MHCLG to implement the new local growth fund, working in partnership with the Welsh Government. This will ensure that this funding is spent on projects that matter to the people of Wales and will drive growth across the country.'
Similar language was also used in the documentation for Scotland nod Northern Ireland.
Over the last week the Welsh Government has been seeking clarification, with the First Minister now saying she has received assurances from the Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones - although she didn't mention Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner.
At a meeting of the Senedd committee for culture, communications, Welsh language, sport and international relations, Blaenau Gwent Labour MS Alun Davies said the spending review reference had seemingly broken the manifesto pledge by the Prime Minister on repatriating powers back to Wales.
In response Ms Morgan said:'Just to make it clear I am not accepting what was put in there (spending review) in the way it has been interpreted. I have had a categorical assurance from the Secretary of State for Wales that this will be decided and managed by the Welsh Government.
"This was a commitment by the Prime Minister on the stage of the Labour Party conference and I have made it absolutely clear that we will be holding their feet to the fire on this. And I am actually more confident that we are going to get to the place that I want to be, because I have been given those reassurances and it is something I also made clear in a meeting last week in front of the First Secretary to the Treasury (Darren Jones).
In response Mr Davies said he very much welcomed the clarification.
In the spending review it was confirmed that Wales will get an allocation of £630m over a three year period from April next year from the MHCLG's local growth fund. Wales getting a 22% allocation of the total funding available. If it was allocated to Wales under the Barnet Formula it would only receive around 5%.
A UK Goverment source said 'Wales got the best deal on growth funding of any U nation. Every penny and the overall share of Wales' fund was protected. We are wholly committed to delivering Keir Starmer's pledge to restore the decision making role to Welsh Goverment.'
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If the Welsh Government is to control the fund it will need to set up a delivery team as well as setting priorities for investment.
A Welsh Government spokesman said; 'We will ensure this £630m funding has greater impact than the legacy Shared Prosperity fund.
"We will continue to discuss the detail of this funding with the UK Government and will decide how it is used to support our economic ambitions and bring prosperity to all parts of Wales.'
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