Will the Cabinet Secretary outline what schemes will be supported by the capital funding for economic regeneration and associated skills in both 2019-20 and 2020-21, and where these will be?
All our capital investment, whether to businesses, transport, digital infrastructure or property, supports economic development across Wales.
There are six funds that have been consolidated into the Economy Futures Fund. They are as follows:
- Capital Investment and aid for job creation.
- Research, Development and Innovation (including SMART Cymru).
- Environmental Protection Scheme (EPS).
- Tourism Investment Support Scheme (TISS).
- Creative Production Funding.
- Repayable Fund for SMEs.
The £2.5m allocation in 2019-20 will support the development of the regionally focussed model for economic development, with activity guided by regional priorities and opportunities informed by the work of the Chief Regional Officers alongside stakeholders in each region.
I can confirm that there are no funding cuts to the budgets supporting businesses. The presentation of the budgets is transitioning to align the Economic Action Plan delivery. Consequently, the Business Solutions and Aviation activities previously included in the legacy Sectors Action have been reallocated to the new Strategic Infrastructure Development BEL (2019-20 £10m and 2020-21 £4.2m) in the Economic Infrastructure Development Action and the Aviation BEL (2020-21 £2m) in the Road, Rail, Air and Sea Services and Investment Action. The legacy Sectors Action also provided for repayments of financial transactions capital (previously allocated to support strategic investments) of £2.35m in 2019-20 and £1.1m in 2020-21. These are now shown under “2019-20 Allocations/Reductions” and reflect allocations to Welsh Government central reserves.
These movements explain the differences within the Inclusive Growth and Future Proofing the Welsh Economy (Support for the Calls to Action) budgets. This action also includes additional allocations of £10m in each year for Tech Valleys which is impact assessed as part of “Our Valleys Our Future”.
In regards to Skills, SHELL does not have any capital funding however will be collaborating on the Cardiff City Region deal and supporting any capital expenditure with revenue funding.
The Welsh Government’s Targeted Regeneration Investment programme is a £100 million three year (2018-21) capital programme aimed at supporting regionally-prioritised projects across Wales that promote economic regeneration, whilst serving the aims of wider sustainable development. The spend profile of the Programme in 2019-20 and 2020-21 will be a total of around £90 million, but the exact in-year breakdown is not yet known, as projects are still being developed.
Building for the Future is the capital regeneration programme for West Wales and the Valleys funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Priority 4: Connectivity and Urban Development, for the period 2017-23. The £54 million funding package consists of £38 million ERDF, £16 million Welsh Government co-finance, which will also be supplemented by match funding from other public, private and third sector sources.
The programme is designed to create jobs and growth and contribute to the tackling poverty agenda. It will assist in the regeneration of town centres and surrounding areas by tackling derelict, under-utilised land or buildings. The projected spend profile of the Programme in 2019-20 and 2020-21 is £15.4 million and £12.6 million respectively.