North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has spoken in the Senedd of the benefits to the region of the UK Government’s new Levelling Up Fund, and other Funds, and welcomed the fact that local authorities and communities are being involved in the design and delivery of programmes, supported by the work of North Wales’ Conservative MPs.
Speaking as Shadow Counsel General In Wednesday’s Spokespersons Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution, Mr Isherwood referred to projects in North Wales that could benefit from the funding which have been highlighted in the UK Parliament by the region’s MPs, and said several organizations in the region have also been engaging positively with Welsh Government officials regarding these Funds.
He said:
“UK Government Ministers have repeatedly stated that the amount of money going to be spent in Wales when the Shared Prosperity Fund comes in will be identical to or higher than the amount that was spent in Wales that came directly from the European Union, underpinned by the ‘not-a-penny-less guarantee’. The UK Government's ‘Plan for Wales’ states that projects include ‘implementing the new Levelling Up Fund, which will invest up to £4.8 billion in local infrastructure across the UK that has a visible impact on people and their communities’.
“And I note, for example, that, during Prime Minister's questions in May, the MP for Clwyd South, Simon Baynes MP, praised Wrexham and Denbighshire Councils for their dynamic proposals for the Dee Valley in their joint bid for the Levelling Up Fund, including regeneration of the Trevor Basin, improvements for Chirk and Llangollen, and investment in Corwen Station and surrounding area. I also note that the MP for Wrexham, Sarah Atherton MP, is working in the UK Parliament to ensure that Wrexham receives the funding it needs and deserves from the Levelling Up Fund, focused on the Gateway area around the Wrexham Racecourse.
“Through their positive engagement with Welsh Government officials, I am pleased to have been advised by several organisations in North Wales that these officials are directly involved in the UK Government's Community Renewal Fund, Levelling Up Fund, UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Community Ownership Fund, and that these are at last delivering internal devolution in Wales by involving Local Authorities and Communities in the design and delivery of programmes, playing an important role in levelling up and strengthening our Union of British peoples as we build back better from the pandemic.”
Mr Isherwood went on to ask the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution what direct involvement with this funding his officials are having in practice with the UK Government and other Governments within the UK, and was told “this is essentially a matter that is within the portfolio of the Minister for Finance.”