Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Ruane Excerpts

Wednesday 5th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The whole issue of the illegal wildlife trade is a very important one. It was an issue that I touched on when I was in South Africa, in fact, and there was a Minister from Botswana there at the time. We are holding a major conference later this year on the illegal wildlife trade, because we see it as an important issue, and we are bringing people together across the international community to consider how we can further deal with this.

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

Q14. Prominent Tory Brexiteers promised that Wales would not lose out on funding if it voted to leave the EU. Wales has received £5.3 billion in European structural funds since 2000—the highest level in the UK and Europe. Will the Prime Minister guarantee, here and now, that Wales will not lose out on these funds should the UK leave the EU?

[The Prime Minister]

First, the hon. Gentleman says “should” the UK leave the EU. The UK is leaving the European Union, and that will happen on 29 March next year. What we will be doing—what we are doing—is reassessing and looking at the structural funds that have come from the European Union in the past. We are setting up the shared prosperity fund, which will ensure that we are looking at disparities within regions and within and between the nations of the United Kingdom. We are working to ensure that we have a system, and a deal with the European Union for the future, that works for the whole of the United Kingdom.