Written evidence submitted by Royal College of Nursing Wales (SPF0018)
Royal College of Nursing Wales recommends:
- The UK Shared Prosperity Fund should allocate the same level of funding to Wales as the European structural fund to assist in establishing a prosperous Wales and reducing social, economic and health inequalities.
- The UK Shared Prosperity Fund must respect the devolution settlement and the role of the Welsh Government as the developer and distributor of these funds in Wales.
- The UK and Welsh Government must ensure there is a synergy with health, social care, public health and local government policies to maximise the impact of the Shared Prosperity fund.
How effective have existing arrangements for the management of European Structural Funds been?
Wales is the region of the UK which benefits the most from EU Structural Funds, receiving £680m a year in EU Funds.
Wales has some of the poorest places not just in the UK, but in Europe. West Wales has historically been one of the poorest regions in Europe. In 2008 Eurostat published data relating to struggling regions across Europe and West Wales has remained at the top end of this list for over a decade.
Eastern parts of Wales also face economic and social challenges, albeit not as stark as those of West Wales and the South Wales Valleys.
The European Structural Fund has addressed economic imbalances, improve social conditions, increased public health and improved medical research capacities. Since 2007 there have been numerous projects funded by the European Structural Fund, including:
- Swansea University’s Bay Campus
- Heads of the Valleys Road
- A centre for high-end research at Swansea University
- Cardiff University Brain Research and Imaging Centre.
The European Structural Fund has greatly aided in the expansion of transport links throughout Wales, increased higher education capacity, and developed Wales as a centre for research and innovation.
Although communities in Wales remain one of the poorest in Europe, the existing arrangements and management of the European Structural Fund have greatly benefitted Wales. The Fund has ensured inequalities are not further exacerbated and communities in Wales do not fall any further behind other regions in the UK, and Europe.
The Royal College of Nursing believe that for Wales to prosper economically and socially the UK Shared Prosperity Fund must replicate the existing funding measures put in place by the European Structural Fund.
The Royal College of Nursing is concerned that any reduction in funds would increase social, economic and health inequalities in Wales.
What level of funding should Wales receive, and how should this be calculated moving forward?
In order to replace this funding, the UK Government has pledged to set up a Shared Prosperity Fund to “reduce inequalities between communities”. To fulfil this pledge, the UK government must allocate a significant proportion of funds to Wales. This should be done on a needs-based demand.
Communities with a high rate of social, economic and heath inequalities should be granted a significant proportion of the fund. As West Wales and the South Wales Valleys have historically been underfunded and underappreciated it is vital that any calculation of funds considers these factors.
The distribution of this fund should lie with the Welsh Government as it is the Welsh Government that is better equipped to reduce the inequalities in Wales.
A proportion of the Shared Prosperity Fund should be used to assist in training and entrepreneurships. This will build a lasting prosperity for areas that have historically been left behind.
Should funding be ring-fenced on a nation or regional basis or should the fund be open to competitive tendering?
It is important that the funding is ‘ring-fenced’ on a nation and regional level to ensure Wales is granted the funds that are needed to reduce inequalities. This will allow for stability, security and ensures communities can plan for their future.
Funding should be allocated on a needs-based demand that shares a similarity to the distribution of NHS Wales resource allocation, devised by Peter Townsend. The communities that require the most support should be able to guarantee that they will receive annual funding. This process should be reviewed every year to ensure communities are receiving appropriate funding and the Shared Prosperity Fund is focused on reducing inequalities.
Health, social care and local government are devolved matters and to ensure synergy with policy in these areas and maximise impact, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund must respect the devolution settlement and the role of the Welsh Government as the developer and distributor of these funds in Wales
The distribution of this fund in Wales should lie with the Welsh Government and local authorities.
The Royal College of Nursing Wales highly recommends that the fund is not opened for competitive tendering as this would create uncertainty, lead to sporadic planning and weaken the capabilities of communities to overcome inequalities.
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