Recommendation 2

The UK Government must urgently work with the devolved governments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to agree priorities for the Shared Prosperity Fund and to co-create the details regarding how the Fund will work. It must provide evidence of progress being made in October ahead of finalising arrangements during November. At that point, the plans the UK Government has co-created with the devolved administrations must give full details of what the Fund will look like, how it will be funded and how it will be administered. The UK Government must guarantee that there will be no cliff edge ending to funding arrangements after the transition phase ends in January 2021, particularly as ESI funds have been used to assist the Welsh Government in responding to the economic challenges of coronavirus. It is important that this work can continue beyond January and throughout the pandemic. (Paragraph 17) EU Structural Funding in Wales