The Government has used the phrase ‘Global Britain’ since the EU referendum in 2016 to summarise its post-Brexit foreign policy. It has said the Integrated Security, Defence and Foreign Policy Review, set to conclude early this year, will expand on its vision for the UK’s place in the world. In November 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the first outcome of this review would be an increase in defence spending over the current parliament.
Documents to download
-
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:
- The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion by correcting imbalances between its regions; and
- The European Social Fund (ESF), which supports jobs and workers across Europe.
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.
Documents to download
-
Replacing European Structural Funds in Wales after Brexit (223 KB, PDF)
Related posts
-
-
On 24 December 2020, the UK and the EU reached agreement on a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (the TCA) setting out their future relationship. The UK Parliament passed the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020 in one day on 30 December 2020. The TCA has been provisionally applied by both parties from 1 January 2021. The House of Lords is due to debate the TCA on 8 January 2021.
-
At the time of publication, the UK and the EU are continuing to negotiate their future relationship. Should a deal be reached, the Government has indicated Parliament would have to pass legislation to implement it. The requirements of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 would also need to be met before the UK Government could ratify a treaty. This article looks at the role of the House of Lords in this process.
