The External Affairs and Additional Legislation agreed to look at the future of regional policy in Wales.

Regional policy sets out to reduce regional disparities in economic performance. These policies were agreed at an EU level before Brexit. In the last 7-year financial framework, £2 billion of EU funding was earmarked for this purpose in Wales.

As part of the inquiry the Committee considered:

• the status of existing programmes (including levels of commitment and questions around programme closure).
• the future of regional policy in Wales (in the context of the United Kingdom outside the European Union);
• best practice elsewhere in the world, including alternative models that are used to reduce regional disparities in economic performance.

Evidence gathering

The Committee took oral evidence as part of its inquiry on the following dates:

27 February 2017 (371 KB)

6 March 2017 (586 KB)

13 March 2017 (531 KB)

20 March 2017 (279 KB)

15 May 2017 (632 KB)

The Committee also received written evidence which can be viewed below.

Report

The Committee’s report on the future of regional policy was published in June 2017. Read the full report

On the day the report was published, David Rees AM, Chair of the Committee, said:

“Carrying on as we are is not an option and everyone, from the Welsh Government, to the private sector, our universities and the third sector need to start thinking about fresh approaches to tackling some of the economic challenges we face as a nation.

“It is a call to arms for us all, that one that none should shy away from.”

Welsh Government response

The Welsh Government responded to the Committee’s report. A Plenary debate took place on 27 September 2017.