A MOTION accusing the UK Government of “infringing on the sovereignty of the Scottish Parliament” with the Shared Prosperity Fund and Levelling Up Fund has been passed at Holyrood.
The Shared Prosperity Fund, a scheme designed to replace EU funding with cash administered directly by Westminster to Scottish communities, has previously drawn criticism for bypassing the devolved parliament.
Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, has defended the scheme – insiting the fund is just an augmentation of devolution.
There has also been criticism over the level of funding, with ministers saying it doesn't fully replace the money that came from the EU before Brexit.
In Wales, the government has accused the Tories of “levelling down” their nation as it emerged it will receive less than one-seventh of the funding it would have from the EU.
MSPs approved, by 65 votes to 51 with one abstention, a Scottish Government motion claiming the two funds “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”.
READ MORE: SNP councils welcome UK levelling up funds designed to 'boost the Union'
A Conservative amendment, welcoming the UK Government’s “plans to level up every part of the UK” with money going to “dozens of projects in every part of Scotland” was defeated by 29 votes to 89.
A Labour amendment, highlighting “increasing regional inequalities across Scotland” and saying that ministers at Holyrood and Westminster are failing to tackle these adequately, was also rejected by 23 votes to 94.
A LibDem amendment calling on the UK Government to “establish a joint council for levelling up that will agree and oversee spending in relation to the levelling up agenda” was voted down by 23 to 95.
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