Welsh Reaction to the Budget 2023
Written by Gavin on 15th March 2023
As the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt has today delivered his budget, Welsh politicians and organisations have responded.
The budget is set to provide Wales with an additional £178m of funding over two years.
Finance Minister Rebecca Evans said:
“Today we saw a less than bare minimum Budget, which misses the big picture, at a time when people’s financial situations are worsening.
“It fell short of providing meaningful support – there were sticking plasters when we needed significant action. Potholes and petrol took precedence over pay rises for teachers and NHS staff.
“Critical public services which we all rely on continue to face devastating cuts – there was no extra funding for health, social services or local government.
“The decision to maintain the energy price guarantee for a further three months will provide some comfort for people in this ongoing cost-of-living crisis and is something we have been consistently calling for.
“We have also been calling on the UK Government to make Universal Credit fairer and for energy companies to stop penalising people on prepayment meters. We have seen small steps in the right direction in these areas.”
She added:
“The Chancellor today made some big and long-term commitments on childcare in England. We are already rolling-out a phased expansion of our childcare offer to two-year-olds as part of our Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru.
“We will consider how best to use the consequentials from this announcement as a Cabinet, to best meet the needs of people in Wales.
“But we need to be really clear: this Budget does not go far enough in addressing the very real challenges people are facing.
“The Chancellor had the financial levers and capacity to provide comprehensive and meaningful support, as well as to invest in public services, public sector pay and economic growth. What we have seen today has unfortunately fallen short.
“It was also disappointing to see the lack of specific investment in Wales. The Chancellor did not take advantage of the investment opportunities in rail, research and renewable energy.
“We will be carefully analysing the detail of the announcements made today and will be providing more information about what they mean for Wales in the coming days and weeks.”
A Written Ministerial Statement on the Spring Budget will issue on 16 March with the finance minister answering questions on 22 March.
Welsh Conservative Shadow Finance Minister, Peter Fox MS said:
“The Chancellor today has announced a budget that will deliver growth and prosperity for families and businesses, expanding free childcare will support hard-working parents who want to stay in their jobs but can’t afford to.
“Continuing their action to tackle the cost of living, we welcome the additional support for those on low incomes and pensioners. This is a UK Government which is helping the lowest paid in society to stay in work and be a part of the team to continue our economic growth following the pandemic and Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.
“Once again, it is the Conservatives who are working to deliver on the people’s priorities, growing the economy and making sure hard work pays off.
“Now it is the turn of the Labour Government in Wales to fully use the additional funding to provide the same expanded childcare offer as England, guaranteeing that people in Wales have the same opportunity to reach their full potential.”
Leisure centres with swimming pools will be given a £63m boost in Wednesday’s Budget, says Sport England. Wales will receive Barnett consequentials from this new money.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Sports Minister, Tom Giffard MS said:
“This is terrific news for leisure centres with swimming pools that have been struggling in recent times with increased energy costs.
“The transformative fund will not only assist with short term funding difficulties, it will also help future proof facilities so that the benefits of swimming can be enjoyed for generations to come
“I urge the Labour Government to take the Barnett consequentials from the new money being spent in England to replicate this welcome support here in Wales.”
Plaid Cymru Treasury spokesperson Ben Lake MP said:
“The extension of the Energy Price Guarantee to July will prevent a further increase to energy bills in April, but it is disappointing that the Chancellor failed to extend the Energy Bills Support Scheme or the Alternative Fuel Payments in today’s Budget. By opting for the status quo, the Chancellor has missed an opportunity to offer much needed support to off-grid households, and families that are already struggling with higher living costs.
“It is surprising that no commitment was made to ensuring fair pay increases for our public sector workers, and it is appalling that no mention was given in the Chancellor’s speech to improving digital connectivity. There needs to be significant and early investment digital connectivity and broadband infrastructure, transport links, renewable energy and research and development if we hope to realise Wales’ economic potential. The Chancellor’s silence on these issues today risks locking Wales into lower levels of development than wealthier areas of the UK.
“Plaid Cymru welcomes the belated funding for childcare in England, which must lead to full consequential funding to Wales. We are already on the front foot thanks to Plaid Cymru, with free childcare for two-year-olds extended through our Cooperation Agreement. The Labour government must now go faster and commit to using new funds to deliver Plaid Cymru’s policy of universal childcare in full.”
Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds has criticised the UK Government’s budget for not doing enough to support households hit by the cost of living crisis as well as continuing to deprive Wales of HS2 funding and failing to future-proof the country against rising energy prices.
Commenting Jane Dodds MS said:
“This Budget shows the Conservative Party is completely out of touch.“They had a chance to show they care about the cost-of-living crisis that’s hitting thousands of Welsh families and pensioners but they failed miserably.“This was an opportunity to cut energy bills and give households a real helping hand. They could have borrowed Liberal Democrat plans to cut bills by an average of £500.“Likewise, there is nothing here to future-proof homes against future energy price rises. Wales and the UK has some of the least energy-efficient homes in Northern Europe. Without a real insulation programme families will remain vulnerable to price shocks.“Beyond the energy crisis the UK Government has continued to deprive Wales of billons of pounds in HS2 funding it is owed, setting up our poor public transport systems for continued failure.”
On the expansion of childcare in England she added:
“Labour and Plaid Cymru’s childcare plans in Wales are simply not ambitious enough to move the dial for families.“Childcare costs are one of the most pressing issues facing families up and down Wales right now and it is holding our economy back by keeping parents out of the workforce because for many families it is more cost-effective for a parent to stay at home than return to work.“The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called for and will continue to call for free part-time childcare from 9 months for all parents regardless of work status and the Welsh Government must use extra money it will receive today to at very least match England.”
Age Cymru’s Response to the budget
Age Cymru’s chief executive Victoria Lloyd says:
“We welcome the extension of the support with energy bills for three months until July. However, it is worth remembering that even with this support, average household bills are still double the level they were during winter 2021-22, leaving many older people on low fixed incomes in an extremely difficult position.
“The reintroduction of the triple lock this April will help of course but we are worried about how some older people in Wales will manage financially as they simply can’t make any further cuts to their household budgets and very few are able to increase their income. Older people in Wales will need further support.
“Looking beyond this extended support, the Government at Westminster needs to implement policies that prevent wild fluctuations in energy bills so that older people can plan for the future with some degree of certainty.”
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GTFM – Cynon Valley