Written question WQ90192
- Asked by
- Cefin CampbellPlaid
- To be answered by
- Minister for Finance and Local Government
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 20 days
Question
What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact on Wales of the proposed new funding settlement for Northern Ireland?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Finance and Local Government
Welsh Government Ministers have not seen any of the detail of the proposed new funding settlement for Northern Ireland, which is still being negotiated and has not yet been agreed. I will review the settlement once negotiations are finalised, and the final settlement has been published.
The UK Government should be providing investment in our vital public services, from which all devolved nations would receive consequential funding. We are all grappling with extreme pressures on services, caused by rising demand, persistently high inflation, unfunded public sector pay increases and higher energy bills.
The Welsh Government has been pressing for several years for additional flexibilities. The improvements made to the Scottish Fiscal Framework in relation to reserve and borrowing limits should be applied to Wales. This would mean:
· Indexing our borrowing and overall reserve limits to inflation.
· The abolition of our reserve draw-down limits.