Member

Thirdly, income generated by the whole Crown Estate portfolio currently benefits the people of Wales. As I have already noted, the Crown Estate pays its entire net profits into the UK Consolidated Fund each year, which both enables those revenues to fund UK government spending in reserved areas in Wales—for example, in policing—and supports the funding provided through the block grant. In comparison, if Wales were to benefit only from the income generated in Wales, then it would likely be zero or negligible for several decades to come. Welsh assets are relatively new and will take time to mature, likely in the order of 10 to 15 years. The Crown Estate has shown itself to be a trusted and successful organisation with a proven track record in both effective management and profit generation, which are valuable outcomes that we need to be careful not to undermine.