The Welsh Government has reached agreement with the UK Government on the establishment of freeports in Wales, Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething, has confirmed.
Welsh Ministers have agreed to support freeport policies in Wales following the UK Government’s agreement to meet the Welsh Government’s demands that UK Ministers provide at least £26 million of non-repayable starter funding for any freeport established in Wales, which represents a parity with the deals offered to English freeports.
The UK Government have agreed to meet a number of other demands – including that both governments will act on the basis of a ‘partnership of equals’ to deliver any freeports in Wales.
In addition, both governments have agreed a freeport will only be implemented if it can be demonstrated clearly it will operate in a manner that aligns with the Welsh Government’s policies on fair work and environmental sustainability, including the commitment to Wales becoming a net-zero carbon nation.
In addition, Welsh and UK Ministers have agreed:
- the UK Government will provide tax incentives for freeports in Wales in parity with freeports in other parts of the United Kingdom for the reserved taxes that have been designated to advance the policy aims. The Welsh Government will design tax reliefs from local and devolved taxes (Non-Domestic Rates and Land Transaction Tax) to support the policy aims.
- both governments will remain open to the possibility of a multi-site freeport in Wales. In recognition of Wales’ unique economic geography and the Welsh Government’s aspirations for economic development in Wales, the UK Government is willing to relax the 45km boundary limit for a multi-site Freeport solution, should there be a sufficiently compelling case for doing so.
- both governments will remain open to the possibility of allowing more than one freeport in Wales, should they be presented with a sufficiently compelling business case.
Both governments have begun the process of designing the bid prospectus for the competition and further details about the timing of next steps will be released in due course.
For further information visit Welsh and UK governments agree to establish freeports in Wales | GOV.WALES