Will the First Minister confirm whether any Barnett consequentials received as a result of the recently announced rail infrastructure projects will be spent on rail services and not redistributed to other Welsh Government projects?
Currently there is no Barnett consequential for Wales arising from the rail infrastructure projects as part of the UK Government’s Network North package.
The impact on Welsh Government funding of the £36 billion package of Network North transport projects is unclear. We do not know how the projects will be delivered or classified. We do not know therefore if the Welsh Government will receive any funding. It is likely that there will be very little impact in the short to medium term.
The majority of the funding also falls after the next UK Government Spending Review and will need to take account of the challenging public finance position, so it is uncertain how much of this funding can actually be relied upon.
It is an important principle of devolution that consequential funding is not ring-fenced for similar purposes in Devolved Governments. The Welsh Government assesses and considers where the greatest impact will be when making funding decisions taking into account Welsh circumstances and priorities.