Source · Select Committees · Welsh Affairs Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Paragraph: 67
Despite the positive feedback we have received about the performance of the Welsh European Funding...
Conclusion
Despite the positive feedback we have received about the performance of the Welsh European Funding Office in administering ESI funds, it is clear that for many respondents the current system of structural funding has been too centralised and overly bureaucratic. The development of the Shared Prosperity Fund represents an opportunity to address these problems and establish a system of funding which is less administratively burdensome.
Paragraph Reference:
67
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government recognises the bureaucratic burden that EU structural funds have placed on local partners, including local authorities, businesses and community organisations. During the engagement we have held across the UK, including meetings with all local authorities in Wales, stakeholders have been clear that the current landscape is complex and overly bureaucratic. They communicated the chance to develop a new, simplified and integrated approach to local growth funding whilst ensuring that the good practices from previous programmes are captured. There was also a desire for investment to go directly to the local communities that need them. The bureaucratic burden of EU programmes also means that places often have a long wait before they receive any funding. Places typically do not see any investment in their communities until at least a year after the programmes have started. The provision of additional funding in 2021/22, by contrast, will be quick and responsive. The Government will set out further details on the operation of the UKSPF in a UK-wide investment framework published in the spring.