0.1 Regions and clusters  (Page 13/15)

While much effort has been made to address the economic weaknesses of much of Wales, including through use of European Objective 1 funding, the performance of parts of the Welsh economy remains significantly behind that of Europe as a whole. This is highlighted by the fact that much of Wales still qualifies for the highest level of assistance from the EU, now termed ‘Convergence Funding’.

As previously described in this section WAG outlines its strategy for economic development in ‘Wales: A Vibrant Economy’ (WAG 2005b). This strategy builds upon the vision of integrating national and regional policy with the vision of the European Union and the ‘Lisbon Agenda’ of social and economic regeneration. To achieve this Wales has the support of Convergence Funding worth £1.3bn for the West Wales and Valleys region while other areas of Wales qualify for support worth around £120m from the ‘Competitiveness Fund’, which was previously called Objectives 2 and 3. Most of the funding available (65%) is set for ‘ Lisbon related investments ’ (WEFO 2006) and has been earmarked in line with 9 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund (ESF) priorities (WEFO 2006);

Erdf

• Building the knowledge based economy.
• Improving business competitiveness.
• Developing strategic infrastructure.
• Creating an attractive business environment.
• Building sustainable communities.

Esf

• Supplying young people with the skills needed for employment
• Increasing employment and tackling economic inactivity
• Improving skill levels and improving the adaptability of the workforce
• Making the connections – modernising our public services

While much effort has been made to address the economic weaknesses of much of Wales, including through use of European Objective 1 funding, the performance of parts of the Welsh economy remains significantly behind that of Europe as a whole. This is highlighted by the fact that much of Wales still qualifies for the highest level of assistance from the EU, now termed ‘Convergence Funding’.

With the close of “Objective 1” funding in 2006, the West and the Valleys region of Wales were awarded the highest level of support from the European Union for the Structural Funds programming round 2007–2013 (Convergence).

Convergence, the successor to the Objective 1 programme 2000-2006, covers 15 local authority areas in the West Wales and the Valleys region ( [link] ).

The Convergence programmes for West Wales and the Valleys comprises of funding from two separate European Structural Funds: the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). Around £1 billion of ERDF funds has been allocated to help progress the region’s transformation into a sustainable and competitive economy by investing in the knowledge economy and helping new and existing businesses to grow.  It is focused on regenerating Wales’ most deprived communities, tackling climate change and improving transport. Over £690 million from the ESF has been slotted to be used to tackle economic inactivity, increase skills and employment. The aim is that together, with match funding, Convergence will drive a total investment of £3.5 billion in West Wales and the Valleys (WEFO 2009).