Welsh Finance Minister responds to Chancellor's 2023 Spring Budget
From getting more people into work, to investing in new London-style 'Canary Wharfs' - Wales is receiving a total of £180 million
Last updated 9th Jun 2024
Today's budget announced by the Chancellor - Jeremy Hunt - is his first, and the first one to be announced in 18 months.
It will impact all four nations of the UK - and includes measures such as major benefits changes, as well as measures to get more people, including those over the age of 50, back into work.
Some measures don't apply to us here in Wales, however, including one which made the headlines across much of the day - and that's changes to free childcare. In England, Jeremy Hunt's extension to free childcare provision to include all kids between 9 months and 4 years is a move similar to what's already been announced on our side of the border.
Now, though, we've been told the Welsh Government will be 'looking into' what they can do as they assess the cash boost handed to us here.
Aside from childcare, a number of measures announced by Jeremy Hunt have been announced that will have a direct impact on us here in Wales, too, and they include:
- Welfare: Changes to the welfare system to get more disabled people and those on Universal Credit into jobs - dubbed by Jeremy Hunt as the 'biggest change to our welfare system in a decade' - but with tougher sanctions for those who those claiming benefits who don't look for work or take up a reasonable job offer
- Pensions: Scrapping of the 'lifetime allowance' for pensions, which means you will now be able to save up as much money as you like for your pension without being taxed - something Labour has called a 'tax cut for the rich'
- Businesses: Firms can reduce their Corporation Tax bill if they invest their profits over the next three years
- Fuel: Fuel duty is being frozen, with the 5p cut maintained for another 12 months
- Energy bills: Support for household bulls, maintaining the Government's 'Energy Price Guarantee' at £2,500 until June
- Alcohol: Alcoholic drinks and cigarette tax will rise in-line with inflation in August
- Pubs: Draught in pubs will come down to be 11p cheaper than in the supermarket - dubbed a 'Brexit pubs guarantee'
- Investment zones: 12 new investment zones - offering up to £80 million of support with tax breaks and incentives - in a move to replicate London's 'Canary Wharf' in other parts of the country - including at least one in Wales
- Suicide prevention: £10 million more handed to charities to prevent suicide
- Artificial intelligence: £900 million for a new AI supercomputer, with £2.5 billion to research and innovation for quantum computing
- Anglesey: £20 million handed to Holyhead Breakwater to help restore the longest stone-constructed breakwater of its kind in Europe
- Welsh Government: £180 million extra for the Welsh Government - which represents a tiny proportion of the Government's budget which stands at around £20 billion
However, unions are angry - they say there was money available for these other issues but not for their public sector employees.
Elsewhere, the Chancellor was setting out his financial plans on the day up to half-a-million workers are out on strike over pay here in Wales, in other parts of the UK, and over at Downing Street.
They include civil servants, teachers, London Underground employees as well as junior doctors.
In Cardiff, that included members of multiple unions, including the PCS Union, as well as National Education Union and University and Colleges Union
The response to the Chancellor's budget in Wales
The Chancellor’s Spring Budget has fallen well short of providing the support people need during the cost-of-living crisis, Finance Minister Rebecca Evans said today.
She said the Chancellor made a series of deliberate choices to prioritise “petrol and potholes” over investment in public services, pay and economic growth.
Responding to the Budget, which will 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.”