Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will (a) take steps to ensure parity of funding for Freeports for England and Wales and (b) allocate £25 million for a Freeport in Wales to match the funding allocated to each of the eight Freeports in England.

Freeports will regenerate communities across the UK by attracting new businesses, spreading jobs, investment and opportunity to towns and cities up and down the country. The UK Government remains committed to establishing at least one Freeport in Wales and I’d welcome the support of the Welsh Government to ensure Freeports are introduced in Wales as soon as possible.

The Welsh Government is due to receive Barnett in the usual way and it should be for the Welsh Government to decide how much seed funding to provide to a Freeport in Wales. It is also important to recognise that the seed funding is only one part of the offer available to ports and businesses. There are a variety of benefits from Freeports, including on tax, customs, planning and innovation, many of these which will be delivered by the UK Government.