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Minister says Welsh Government faces ‘tough decisions’ after Westminster fails to meet EU funding pledge

16 May 2022 3 minute read
Economy Minister Vaughan Gething. Picture by Senedd TV.

Wales’ Economy Minister Vaughan Gething says the Welsh Government faces tough decisions on future spending due to Westminster failure to fully replace support received by the EU.

His comments were made as he confirmed that a key Welsh Government-funded programme to help some of those most disadvantaged in the labour market into work will be expanded in 2023, following the winding-up of two existing EU-funded programmes, Communities for Work (CfW) and Parents, Childcare and Employment (PaCE).

The government is stepping in to fund the expansion of the Communities for Work Plus (CfW+) programme following what it describes as “the UK Government’s failure to honour repeated promises Wales would not be a penny worse off following the UK departure from the EU”.

Since 2015, £135m has been invested in the schemes which provided intensive community-based employment support and training to 41,000 individuals with complex barriers to work.

Over 17,500 of these individuals have been helped into employment.

Un-replaced funding

Mr Gething said: “Despite the promise made by the UK Government that Wales would not be worse off from the UK leaving the EU, the reality is we are facing a loss of more than £1 billion in un-replaced funding.

“The Welsh Government cannot fill the massive hole the UK Government has created in the Welsh budget, which means we and our Welsh partners – who have previously benefited from EU funding – will need to take tough decisions on what to fund in future.”

Allocations

Last month the UK Government announced conditional allocations for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, saying it has matched previous EU funding but with less bureaucracy and more local control.

However, analysis of the UK Government’s replacement for EU funding means the Welsh budget will be more than £1 billion worse off by 2024-25.

Under the EU aid system, the Welsh government administered the cash in agreement with the European Commission.

Under the new scheme, local authorities will be encouraged to work together on regional committees to decide how the money will be used – with the Welsh Government effectively bypassed on spending decisions.

The Minister added: “This Welsh Government is determined to help people into and remain in good quality jobs. That’s why we’re taking action to fund a new Wales-wide programme to support people to do just that.

“By funding this expansion of Communities for Work + and focussing on people who are under-represented in the labour market and those who face disadvantage and inequity in accessing work, we will create a more equal Wales – a society that enables people to fulfil their potential no matter what their background or circumstances.

“While UK Ministers talk about “levelling up” the UK, it’s this Welsh Government that’s delivering for people across Wales by funding transformative programmes that help to change their lives for the better.”


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Cynan
Cynan
1 year ago

Westminster didn’t fail to meet the funding pledge. That infers that they even tried.
It was simply just another Tory lie. Shame to those who believed them.

Steve Duggan
Steve Duggan
1 year ago

Matching EU funding was never going to happen. I think we all knew that. As much as it will affect Cymru I’m glad the funding hasn’t been matched. It shows us all, once again, one of the reasons why we must leave the Union. Before the EU we were badly neglected and after the EU we will be badly neglected by Westminster again. As a nation we can not go on like this, we owe it to our children to try and forge a better future for ourselves.

Ernie The Smallholder
Ernie The Smallholder
1 year ago

It does not really surprise us. Does it? The EU gave us grants direct to the Welsh government for our elected representatives to decide on what is best for the people of Wales. It was about mutual respect and democracy. The UK system is about manipulation of Wales to maintain subsurvancy and maintain their rule over Wales. You can see this on the energy policy and the overriding of the Welsh government on the policy of building nuclear power stations on Ynys Mon. It doesn’t matter that nuclear power is actually un-economic and has nearly brought down Centrica plc (cost… Read more »

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
1 year ago

This doesn’t surprise me. We are currently being ruled by an diocracy in London. A political bunch of Conservative gangsters who lie for a living. Wales have not only lost hundreds of millions in once EU Structual Funding, EU money I might add that came directly to Wales to be administered by our Welsh Government to the most poorest areas & communities in Wales, powers over its administration that’s now been cynically hijacked with money now syphoned away by Whitehall to English Labour Red Wall Northern constituencies as a fiscal bung for voting Conservative with the dregs redirected to largely… Read more »

Malcolm rj
Malcolm rj
1 year ago

Why can’t the Welsh government take them to the high court? They have broken a verbal contact and robbed Wales of billions of pounds and also stealing lots of power of the Welsh assembly

Gareth
Gareth
1 year ago

Let’s face it, we are stuffed. If the house of commons can not get Johnson to release the Russia and the Sue Gray reports, or even prevent him from telling lies on a daily basis, even to the Queen, what do people think our Gov can do that is legal, to protect us against this lunacy.

Arwyn
Arwyn
1 year ago

This is no one off. Westminster has pursued policies for a century that has produced an ever growing gap between the London bubble and the rest of the UK. It has made a periphery of Wales and nothing any Westminster Govt has proposed is even remotely adequate in reversing the economic neglect they have brought on our Nation. The so-called deficit is a product of their policies and serves as a convenient narrative to make Welsh people think they need Westminster bailouts. A grand deception to entrench Westminster and hence Tory hegemony. What does Vaughan Gething propose to do in… Read more »

Kerry Davies
Kerry Davies
1 year ago

The governor of the bank of England more or less confirmed today that the UK can not feed it’s people which means the UK is a failed state. Time to bale out and go our own way.

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