New Assembly inquiry looks at the effectiveness of European Structural Funding in Wales
1 November 2011
A new National Assembly for Wales inquiry will examine the effect European Structural Funding is having on the country’s development and economic sustainability.
The Finance Committee will be assessing whether the £3.1 billion allocated to Wales to date is achieving its objectives, which include regenerating Wales’s most deprived communities, tackling economic inactivity, improving the knowledge economy and addressing climate change.
“With the future of European funding streams currently under consideration, this committee feels it is time to assess the impact of money already spent in Wales,” said Chair of the Finance Committee, Jocelyn Davies AM.
“Therefore, we are looking for examples and submissions of evidence which demonstrate how this money has affected certain areas, whether that effect has been broad and positive or whether little, if any, effect has been felt.
“We will be examining whether this funding was managed correctly and appropriately and tackled the very issues it was allocated to do.
“We would therefore like to hear from anyone with an interest in EU Structural Funding, in particular, from those communities it is supposed to be helping.”
Among the questions the committee intends to address as part of its inquiry are:
To what extent do you consider the Convergence and Regional Competitiveness and Employment Programmes in Wales for the 2007-13 period has achieved, or is achieving their intended objectives?
Do you consider the various projects funded by European Structural funds in Wales to be delivering value for money?
How effectively do you believe the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) has monitored and evaluated the impact of projects?
Do you have any concerns regarding the sustainability, beyond 2013, of the activities and outputs delivered through projects financed during the current round of Structural Funds?
Anyone wishing to contribute evidence to the inquiry should either email FinanceCommittee@wales.gov.uk or write to: The Clerk to the Finance Committee, National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF99 1NA.