Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

UK Government Funding for Wales

Wednesday 18 January 2023 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial questions addressed concerns over UK Government funding for Wales, with criticism of the shared prosperity fund's allocation.
  • Questions highlighted discrepancies between promises of no reduction in funding for Wales replacing EU structural funds and actual allocations.
  • Responses included criticism of Welsh Government spending priorities and support for funding mechanisms for higher education in Wales.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Nia Griffith Lab Llanelli
Wales
Context

The UK Government's shared prosperity fund short-changes Wales by £1 billion over three years, despite promises to replace EU funds without reducing support.

Question

I am concerned about the short-changing of Wales by the UK Government's shared prosperity fund by £1 billion over three years. This is despite repeated promises from the Secretary of State and his predecessors that Wales would receive not a penny less when replacing EU structural funds. These funds were used to deliver 5,000 apprenticeship years in Wales. Why is the Minister letting down young people in Wales?

Answer from James Davies

The hon. Lady will know that the shared prosperity fund is extremely generous to Wales and replaces all the money that came from the European Union. There have been fantastic announcements in recent weeks about how the fund will progress. She will also know about an array of other funding schemes through UK Government, including the growth deal.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The shortfall and promise broken by £1 billion over three years was not addressed specifically.

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Q2 Nia Griffith Lab Llanelli
NHS Economy Wales
Context

A Labour-run NHS in Wales has poor performance, and a new speed policy proposes to spend £32 million on a blanket 20 mph limit. This is seen as wasteful by the MP's constituents.

Question

Despite receiving the largest devolution funding settlement, the Welsh Government has the worst performing Labour-run NHS. Instead of spending on what matters, they plan to spend £32 million on a 20 mile-an-hour blanket speed policy which will cost the economy £4.5 billion. Does my hon. Friend agree that this is another example of a Labour waste of money?

Answer from James Davies

My hon. Friend is quite right that the policy is not a good way to spend money, and is not deliverable either.

Answered

Not addressed: null

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Q3 Sarah Atherton
Education Economy Wales
Context

The Welsh Government has been shortchanged by the UK Government's shared prosperity fund, resulting in a double whammy due to record inflation. The higher education sector is shut out of levelling-up processes and faces job cuts.

Question

As my hon. Friend the Member for Llanelli (Dame Nia Griffith) has just reminded the House, the Secretary of State, the Minister and their predecessors repeatedly promised that Wales would receive “not a penny less” to replace EU structural funds to Wales. Not only have they failed to deliver on that promise, but record inflation has hit the Welsh Government's budget hard. Higher education has been excluded from levelling-up processes, putting hundreds of jobs at risk. Why are his Government letting down people in Wales?

Answer from James Davies

I joined the Secretary of State on a visit to Bangor University last week, highlighting the importance of funding mechanisms for higher education. There are various schemes through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy aimed at supporting the university sector in Wales.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific shortfall and exclusion from levelling-up processes was not directly addressed with concrete commitments or figures.

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Q4 Gerald Jones Lab Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare
Education Economy Wales
Context

The UK Government's shared prosperity fund short-changes Wales by £1 billion over three years, despite promises to replace EU funds without reducing support.

Question

As my hon. Friend the Member for Llanelli (Dame Nia Griffith) has just reminded the House, the Secretary of State, the Minister and their predecessors repeatedly promised that Wales would receive “not a penny less” to replace EU structural funds to Wales. Not only have they failed to deliver on that promise, but record inflation has hit the Welsh Government's budget hard. Higher education has been shut out of levelling-up processes and faces job cuts. Why are his Government letting down people in Wales?

Answer from James Davies

I joined the Secretary of State on a visit to Bangor University last week, highlighting the importance of funding mechanisms for higher education. There are various schemes through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy aimed at supporting the university sector in Wales.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific shortfall and exclusion from levelling-up processes was not directly addressed with concrete commitments or figures.

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