Finance Minister has today [Saturday 18
November] called on the UK Government to provide extra help
to support vital public services and provide fair funding for
Wales in the Autumn Statement.
Speaking as the Chancellor finalises the Autumn Statement, which
will be delivered this Wednesday, the Minister also urged the UK
Government to recognise the need for additional investment in
coal tip safety and rail infrastructure in Wales.
She said:
“We are experiencing extraordinary pressures on our budget as a
result of prolonged high inflation, together with the toxic
combination of more than a decade of austerity and the ongoing
impact of Brexit.
“All public services are grappling with incredibly difficult
decisions and the NHS and local authorities are reporting extreme
challenges across their budgets with significant service
pressures in health, social care, education, and homelessness.
"There will be a significant impact on the immediate future of
our vital public services if the UK Government once again fails
to invest.”
The Minister has written to the Chancellor calling for
significant investment by the UK Government including for coal
tip safety and rail infrastructure.
Since 2020, the Welsh Government has made available £50m for coal
tip inspection and maintenance works for this issue which
pre-dates devolution but is not recognised in the funding
settlement.
The Minister today urged the UK Government to provide a £20m
contribution to support the remediation of selected sites. The
Welsh Government has recently published the locations of category
C and D coal tips across Wales – these are the coal tips which
require more frequent inspection.
She also highlighted the disparity in funding in rail investment
in Wales, saying: “Now that HS2 is just a London to Birmingham
railway, the UK Government's flimsy arguments for classifying it
as an ‘England and Wales’ project have collapsed.
"HS2 is an England-only project and Wales should be provided with
its fair share of consequential funding, including the £270m we
have missed out on to date.
"We are also calling for a wider review of how rail projects are
classified, and for the UK Government to re-engage with the work
of the joint UK and Welsh Government Wales Rail Board to deliver
a rolling programme of investment which provides the rail
infrastructure Wales needs.”
