This House of Lords Library Briefing contains a selection of material relevant for the forthcoming question for short debate on the replacement of European Structural Funds in Wales after Brexit on 5 February 2020.
Replacing European Structural Funds in Wales after Brexit (223 KB , PDF)
The UK was allocated €10.6bn from the latest European Structural Funding cycle, which covers
2014–20. Wales was eligible to receive around £2.1bn (€2.5bn) of this. The UK Government has committed to protecting the funding from this current cycle. When the UK leaves the EU, it will no longer be eligible for future funding. The 2019 Conservative Party manifesto stated that the Government will set up a UK Shared Prosperity Fund to ensure that the people of the UK do not lose out from the removal of EU funding.
European Structural Funds are divided into two funding streams:
According to the Wales Audit Office, Wales was allocated around £1.2bn (€1.4bn) from the ERDF and £800m (€936m) from the ESF in the 2014–20 cycle. This funding goes towards projects such as: connectivity and urban development; renewable energy and energy efficiency; youth employment and attainment; and technical assistance.
On 24 July 2018, the former Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, James Brokenshire, made a statement to the House of Commons which set out the Government’s plans to develop a UK Shared Prosperity Fund to replace European Structural Funds. In a debate in September 2019, the Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth, Jake Berry, further stated that the UK Shared Prosperity Fund would respect the devolution settlement and that additional information would be given at the next comprehensive spending review, due to take place in 2020.
Some observers have raised questions over the method that may be used to allocate funding through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. For example, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has argued that using the Barnett Formula, which is currently used by the Treasury to allocate funds to the devolved administrations, may result in a reduction of funding to Wales.
Replacing European Structural Funds in Wales after Brexit (223 KB , PDF)
Following the UK’s departure from the EU, the UK now has power to make decisions which used to be made at EU level. Several of these powers relate to policy areas that the devolved nations are individually responsible for. The UK and devolved governments have been developing common frameworks to ensure regulatory consistency in these policy areas.
Since freedom of movement ended, EU and EEA citizens coming to the UK since 1 January 2021 are subject to immigration controls and the UK’s new points-based immigration system. EU and EEA citizens who were living in the UK before that date were eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to enable them to remain here. This article looks at key features of both schemes and the impact of the changes.
The House of Lords is due to debate two committee reports on the Northern Ireland Protocol on 13 September 2021. This briefing summarises the reports and recent developments relating to the protocol, including the Government’s July 2021 command paper that argued for discussions with the EU to find a “new balance” in the protocol.
