Wales: European Structural Funds

Lord Griffiths of Burry Port Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Griffiths of Burry Port (Lab)]

My Lords, let me open by offering a word of gratitude, along with others, to the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, for giving us this opportunity, and a word of delight at seeing the noble Lord, Lord Thomas, in both his places. I also offer a word of genuine welcome to the noble Baroness, Lady Bloomfield, who is in her place. I look forward to our perhaps seeing each other in this trysting way several times in the future.

Perhaps I may also express a word of disappointment that when it comes to discussing Welsh affairs, it is all of us boyos and girls together. We could all do it with a good Welsh accent. There are one or two lovely strangers, and they are very welcome, but it is a bit of a shame because devolved government means that we are discussing part of the United Kingdom in a special relationship with the rest, yet here we all are—oh, and the noble Lord, Lord Bethell, is here as well.

The inglorious thing about speaking at this moment in a debate is that every single well thought-out and beautifully phrased point that I wanted to make has already been made. All the figures I wanted to quote have been quoted; all the trends to be discussed have already been traced. I am left with a choice. Either I give my speech, willy-nilly, or I just point to the headlines—noble Lords will have to guess when I have finished which choice I have taken.

The poverty of Wales has been well alluded to, and the decades of difficulty experienced in recent times have been well spoken of. So, too, has the social and regional development funding, and the need for us now to look to the future as to how those in government will handle the successor moment. The poverty of Wales, especially in the west and in the valleys, has led to our receiving levels of funding which, as the noble Lord, Lord Bourne, said, we should not be shouting about from the rooftops; it is a shame that we have to qualify for it. At the same time, and with due recognition to what the noble Lord, Lord Davies, said, not all of it has been handled well; some of it has been handled badly. From these Benches I recognise, too, that the notion of additionality had to be quarrelled about within our own party when we were in government. So nobody is here to boast. We are all here to see how best to handle what lies ahead of us.

We have heard about the £2 billion and what it ought to become in the 2021 to 2027 period. Undoubtedly, we look forward to hearing more about that.

Wales has benefited from all this funding, despite the difficulties referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Davies. This is the first time that I have heard the noble Lord speak, and I must mention that because one can see Penclawdd, Port Eynon and Swansea from Burry Port—yes, we can keep you in view from where I live.

We must recognise the good that has been done, and we must therefore seek a really committed word from the Government that it will continue, as has been promised. Oh, how I wish we could have had one of those election campaign battle buses going around the valleys with a figure on the side saying “£2 billion” instead of what was said at a certain moment on a different battle bus, to which I merely allude.

We need to know about the value of the shared prosperity fund, because from 1 January we will be beyond European funding altogether. Business leaders cannot make decisions beyond 2020 until they have a bit more certainty, and indeed no planning of any significant kind can come to pass.

“Not a penny less, not a power lost”: that has been the Government’s pledge and the promise made by many leave campaigners in the run-up to the 2016 referendum who now hold integral roles in the Boris Johnson Government—although whether they will after tomorrow is anybody’s guess. We will just have to wait for that one.

It is vital that the Government should keep that pledge, and I hope that the noble Baroness will give us some indication that they have grasped this point. Promises have been made. As my dear mother of beloved memory taught me: “Promises,” she used to say, “are promises.” I would modernise her wise advice: “Promises are promises, even when they are made on the campaign trail.”

The spirit and the legal basis of the devolution settlement must be respected. Devolution is real, but to become an integral part of a United Kingdom-wide thriving, it has to be respected. In debate after debate, I have suspected that there has simply been less than proper regard for the devolution settlement. It is not taken nearly seriously enough. That worries me greatly, because it is like being palmed off and told to be polite and seen and not heard, and it is much too precious for that.

The new Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart, has said that

“a substantial sum of money is going to be distributed in Wales by Welsh politicians who are directly accountable to Welsh voters”.—[Official Report, Commons, 15/1/20; col. 1006.]

Those were his words. Yet, when asked, he seemed unable to clarify how, or even whether, the Welsh Government will have a chance to do this. At the risk of boring noble Lords, I repeat that promises are promises, even when they are made by an incoming Secretary of State who has not yet learned his job.

We have a needs-based formula. It is on the basis of needs that the current funding is given. It must not be politicised. There must be no patronage. The blunt instruments must be sharpened. There must be additionality, as well as the matched funding that my noble friend referred to.

Here we stand at a cross-roads: Brussels is yesterday, and our relationship with Westminster becomes the substitute for it. We must seek this from the Government, and we must put the noble Baroness on the spot—even though this is her very first appearance here—and ask that she be a vehicle for the views expressed in this debate to be carried back to the Government, and that the passion with which these views are held be conveyed to them, too. They must be taken to the Welsh Office and through the Welsh Office to the Government.

We have much to fear, and I hope that those fears do not come to anything. Promises are promises—sorry to repeat it, but repeat it I must—and we all now look forward to the Minister’s reply.