7. Will the Minister respond to Audit Wales’s recent report on unspent allocated rural development programme funding? OQ59663

The Welsh Government has until 31 December 2023 to fully spend all of its EU funding, which I remain fully committed to achieving. I was pleased to see Audit Wales recognise the steps we have taken to overcommit our available funding in order to maximise spending in Wales. 

Thank you for that response. Of course, it's a great disappointment that the Minister and I will share that we are discussing the final expenditure from the rural development programme, which has been so important to areas such as my constituency, and not being part of the next cycle of funding will be a major blow. I appreciate the challenges that have faced the Government recently, inflation being one of them, but I do welcome the news in the report that the Government has been able to spend a fair amount of the remaining budget for 2023. But there is still £58 million remaining. I represent a rural area. I want to help the Minister to spend this money. Last week, I visited Food Works in Weston-super-Mare, which is a model of the kind of food production park that I've raised with the Minister on a number of occasions. Give us an opportunity. We will help you to spend that money on Anglesey on such a scheme. 

This isn't money that's just slopping around. All this money has been committed, plus I have overcommitted, as you referred to. I don't think you were in the Chamber when I answered three questions from Sam Kurtz on the RDP and the Audit Wales report that you referred to. What I said to Sam Kurtz, and I will repeat for your benefit, is I've overcommitted because we've learnt lessons. We know that quite often there are underspends because sometimes it's difficult for beneficiaries to be able to spend the money, due to a variety of challenges. I've done everything I can to make sure we get as much money out as quickly as possible. You referred to the £58 million. That represents less than 10 per cent of the entire programme. They've still got until the end of December to spend that money. What's really important is that if there are any difficulties with spending that money, my officials are told about them quickly, so that we can look to see what we can do to help, because it's really important that we maximise the spend in response to all the challenges that we've had. We do need to work together, but I'm afraid there isn't any money that I can now allocate to anybody else, because that money has long been allocated and we've overcommitted. But I do agree with you that it's really disappointing that we're not going to have that funding anymore.

I'd just like to press the Minister on this further. It's very good to hear that you said this money has been overcommitted and you're confident that this money will be spent, but, for the benefit of all Members in this Chamber, if you could just outline what some of those projects are, and if you'd be willing to share a list of those projects around to Members, so that we can all see that Welsh Government is spending this money and that none of this money is going to be returned back to the UK.

Okay, I'll repeat it again: I cannot spend the money; I have allocated the money. I have overallocated the money, and I've done everything I can—[Interruption.] It's now up to the—[Interruption.] Do you want to listen? Good. It's up to the beneficiaries, who've told us that they can absolutely spend that money, that they spend that money. It's really important that they give us a heads-up if there are any difficulties so that officials can work with them to make sure. So, whilst I say I am confident, obviously I'm not spending that money. If I was spending that money, I would be more confident, wouldn't I? But I'm confident that what we've done, by learning lessons from previous RDP schemes, where we know there is always an underspend, by overcommitting the funding, I hope that we will absolutely maximise that spending. I don't want to send any money back to the UK Government, I can absolutely assure you, or to the European Union prior to that. It's really important that that money is spent here in Wales. Certainly, from a commercial point of view, if I am able to allow Members to have access to information around the schemes, I'd be very happy to do that, but I will have to check that.

Good afternoon, Minister. I just want to focus on small businesses and microbusinesses, particularly in rural areas. Many of those will be Welsh speaking microbusinesses and small family firms. The RDP has helped some of those small businesses and microbusinesses, particularly in Welsh-speaking communities. I just really want to just seek your assurances that the scheme going forward—the RDP replacement or whatever it will be—will actually look at ensuring that the support continues to those small businesses and microbusinesses, and how you will also be measuring that and ensuring that there's a good impact, particularly on our Welsh-speaking rural communities as well. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Thank you. We're not having a replacement RDP programme, because I'm not sure what funding I'm going to get from the UK Government, and, as you know, our big scheme will be the sustainable farming scheme, and it's really important that every farm is able to access that. But, obviously, you're talking about rural economy, and I think again it is very important that we do as much as we can to recognise the importance of community-led approaches, if you like, to the challenges that our rural economy does face. So, I will have to look at the budget. There are really significant limitations being placed on us as a Government on funding by the UK Government. If you look at their approach to the shared prosperity fund, for instance, and the limited budget that's available to us, I've had to prioritise my core commitments. So, if you look at the LEADER programme, for instance, I think that's an excellent scheme that we've had in our rural communities, but I simply don't have the funding available to continue with this programme. But what we are doing—and it's not just in my portfolio, but right across Government with my Cabinet colleagues—is looking at what wider rural issues we can support through the delivery of the programme for government.