Scottish Parliament – Nov. 18, 2021 – 1

S6M-02158.2: As an amendment to motion S6M-02158 in the name of Richard Lochhead (The UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the UK Government’s Levelling Up Agenda in Scotland), leave out from “agrees” to end and insert “welcomes the UK Government’s plans to level up every part of the UK;

further welcomes the recent announcement of the funding for dozens of projects in every part of Scotland through the Community Renewal Fund and the Levelling Up Fund;

agrees with local authorities across Scotland that have applauded the UK Government for directly funding projects in their areas;

calls on the Scottish Government to stop talking down Scotland’s place in the UK and the value of such to the people of Scotland;

agrees that the UK Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund should at least match the level of EU funding it is replacing;

calls on the UK Government to meet that target in line with commitments made in its recent budget, and further calls on the Scottish and UK governments, as well as local authorities, to work together to ensure the efficient delivery of projects to every community across Scotland.”

Original motion(S6M-02158): That the Parliament agrees that the UK Government’s Spending Review plans for Levelling Up and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund not only fall well short of Scottish expectations and needs, but also infringe the sovereignty of the Scottish Parliament by circumventing the devolution settlement to deliver policy in areas that are clearly and firmly within the ambit of the Scottish Government, and calls on the UK Government to keep the promises made to Scotland, and to work in full partnership with the Scottish Government and local communities on the development of these programmes going forward to ensure they support job creation and a just transition, and meet the needs of Scotland’s citizens.