Regional economy in Wales
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Politics of Wales |
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Regional economy in Wales is centred on four regional economic boards in
History
The initiative began under the
UK Government budgets in spring 2015[4] and in 2016[5] announced the opening of negotiations with the Welsh Government and local partners for the Cardiff Capital Region and Swansea Bay city deals respectively, following the success of the initiative in England's urban centres.
The first Welsh city deal was signed for the Cardiff Capital Region on 15 March 2016[6] with the next deal for the Swansea Bay was signed on 20 March 2017.[1][7][8]
The North Wales Economic Ambition Board published the "Growth Vision for the Economy of North Wales" in September 2016, setting out the regional plan for improving infrastructure, skills, employment, business growth and innovation. In the March 2017 UK budget, the UK Government announced it was looking forward to proposals for a North Wales Growth Deal.[9]
In November 2017, the National Assembly for Wales' Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee recommended to the Welsh Government, that a duty should be placed on regional bodies for promoting the development of the regional economy, and that it should give discretion to the regional bodies over the substantial spending of funds, whether raised regionally or provided by the government.[10] Such transfer of decision-making, may be interpreted as the devolution of some financial powers to the regional bodies from the Welsh Government. Then Cabinet Secretary for Finance Mark Drakeford AM, and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport, Ken Skates AM, rejected the recommendation in a joint response on behalf of the Welsh Government.[11]
The North Wales Growth Deal was signed on 17 December 2020,[12] with the Mid Wales Growth Deal signed on 13 January 2022.[13]
In March 2021, UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced that three deals in Wales would receive their funding over a shorter period, with allocated funding provided earlier than agreed in the deals. Earlier funding would save local authorities in repayment costs and allow invested projects in the deals to progress at a quicker pace. Swansea Bay would see an extra £5.4 million, North Wales £4.4 million and Mid Wales £1.8 million per year for the remaining years for their respective deals. Totaling to £58.7 million over the next five years.[14][15] The announcement was done without consulting the Welsh Government.[16]
In May 2021, funding for the next five years of the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal were approved following the conclusion of a gateway review, which occur every five years during the deal's operation.[17][18]
Purpose
City or growth deals in Wales differ slightly from those signed in
There are no Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in Wales as there are in England, as powers granted to LEPs are also already devolved. The public sector bodies involved in city or growth deals are, therefore, the UK Government, Welsh Government, and local authorities.[1] Their purpose described by the Welsh Affairs Committee is to encourage additional UK Government and Welsh Government funding to their specific geographical areas.[10]
There are no directly elected mayors for the regions in Wales, as there are in England.[10]
There are concerns that City deals may increase inequalities between councils across Wales, as the benefits of the deals may be unevenly distributed through increasing regional competition.[19]
Committee review
In November 2017, the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee of the National Assembly for Wales conducted a review into City Deals and the Regional Economies of Wales.[10]
Their report provided eleven recommendations for the management and structure of the regional economy in Wales. Their recommendations include:[10]
- Clarify scrutiny of the regional bodies
- Responsibly set up the regional boards to avoid another layer of bureaucracy
- Have clear expectations for initial gateway assessments and understand success and failure
- Encourage the construction of contingency plans in the event that UK Government funding is unavailable
- North Wales partners should work with other Welsh and English bodies for opportunities with the rest of Wales and across the England-Wales border
- Respect the responsibilities of public authorities under the Well-being and Future Generations Act
- Duty on regional bodies with discretion over spending
- Construct mechanisms to quickly learn from failures and adapt
- Welsh Government should continue to support and encourage the signing of the North Wales growth deal
- Regional boundaries should be ambiguous allowing for local authorities and private bodies near the boundaries to potentially be part of more than one region
- Sign a Mid Wales growth deal.
The Welsh Government responded stating they accepted five recommendations, accepting in principle a further three, but rejecting the recommendations to place a duty and discretion on regional bodies, and to have the regional boundaries to be flexible and "fuzzy".[11]
Regional deals
There are two city deals and two growth deals in operation in Wales. Funding for the deals from the UK Government is only guaranteed for the first five years of the deal's operation, for further funding, "Gateway Assessments" have to be performed to justify that further funding is necessary. Local authorities may be required to fill in the gaps in funding should the UK Government revoke funds.[10]
City deals
City deals in Wales are agreements between the UK Government, Welsh Government, and a city or "city region". These agreements allow for a city and its surrounding area to increase their decision-making and responsibility on issues affecting their area. This includes making economic decisions over where public funding should be allocated, the most-effective way to support local growth of businesses and generally how to grow its economy.[10]
Cardiff City Region City Deal
Covering ten local authorities in the
Swansea Bay City Deal
Covering the local authorities of
Growth deals
Growth deals are structured very similarly to city deals, with a similar transfer of powers and responsibility. Growth deals, unlike city deals, are not centred on a city and its city region, As a result of being less geographically restrictive, growth deals are allowed to cover larger areas that lack a predominant economic centre and/or city.[10]
North Wales Growth Deal
Covering the local authorities of
The deal is led by the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, with representatives from the six principal councils of North Wales,
Mid Wales Growth Deal
Associated bodies
Each city and growth deal has equivalent bodies to assist in their roles for the regional economy.
There are three Regional Skills Partnerships for the four deals, with the Swansea Bay City Deal and Mid Wales Growth Deal forming a combined Regional Skills Partnership.[24]
The Regional Skills Partnerships are:
- North Wales Regional Skills Partnership – described as the "workstream" of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board[24]
- South West and Mid Wales Regional Learning and Skills Partnership – linked to the Growing Mid Wales Partnership[24]
- Cardiff Capital Region Skills Partnership – legally separate from the Employment and Skills Board of the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal, however, both boards share the same membership[24]
Further reading
- City Deals and the Regional Economies of Wales – November 2017 Review, National Assembly for Wales Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee
- City Regions and Devolution in the UK – The Politics of Representation; David Beel, Martin Jones, Ian Jones; Bristol University Press
See also
References
- ^ UK Parliament. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
- ^ a b "The £1 billion North Wales Growth Deal has reached a landmark milestone". GOV.WALES. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
- ^ a b "Mid Wales Growth Deal reaches an important development milestone". GOV.WALES. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
- ^ "Budget 2015 - The Red Book" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. HM Treasury. 18 March 2015.
- ^ "Budget 2016" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. HM Treasury. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- UK Government. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- HM Government. March 2017.
- House of CommonsLibrary. p. 16. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- gov.uk. HM Treasury. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ National Assembly for WalesEconomy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ a b Drakeford, Mark; Skates, Ken (2017). Written Response by the Welsh Government to the report of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee entitled City Deals and the Regional Economies of Wales (PDF). business.senedd.wales: Welsh Government.
- ^ a b c "UK Government signs North Wales Growth Deal". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
- ^ a b "Mid Wales Growth Deal: Jobs boost but warning over progress". BBC News. 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
- ^ "City and Growth Deals to Benefit from Speeded up Investment". Business News Wales. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ "Budget 2021: Treasury to announce £93m for 'Welsh green recovery'". BBC News. 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ Barry, Sion (2021-03-03). "Welsh Government not told of Chancellor's funding plan for growth & city deals". Business Live. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ Kilgannon, Laurence (20 May 2021). "City Deal funding approved after review". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ Gregory, Rhys (2021-05-20). "UK Government approves Cardiff Capital Region funding". Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ Kapitsinis, Nikos; Luchinskaya, Daria (March 2018). "Business rates in Wales, local retention and regional growth deals – Policy Report" (PDF). orca.cardiff.ac.uk. Wales Public Services 2025 – Cardiff Business School. p. 4. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- ^ "The City Deal". Cardiff Capital Region. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ "Cardiff Capital Region City Deal" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- ^ "About". Swansea Bay City Deal. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
- ^ "Ground-breaking North Wales Growth Deal signed". Bangor University. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
- ^ National Assembly for WalesEconomy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee. p. 12. Retrieved 13 January 2022.