WELSH GROWTH FUNDS REDIRECTED TO UK GOVERNMENT SCHEME

Plaid Cymru condemns £86 million ‘top-slicing’ of Wales’s regional funding allocation for a Whitehall-designed programme.

Plaid Cymru has today (Thursday 11th December) raised concerns after Rebecca Evans MS, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, suggested during a Welsh Affairs Committee evidence session that part of Wales’s expected Local Growth Fund allocation has been redirected by the UK Government to finance its Pride in Place scheme – a programme designed and delivered entirely from Whitehall, with no Welsh Government involvement.

The disclosure comes amid mounting tensions within Labour, after eleven Labour MSs accused the UK Government last week of “rolling back devolution” through the imposition of Pride in Place under the UK Internal Market Act.

The session of the Welsh Affairs Committee on Wednesday, which examined inward investment and the industrial transition facing Wales, also covered the new Local Growth Funds due to replace the Shared Prosperity Fund from April 2026.

During questioning, Llinos Medi MP for Ynys Môn drew attention to an £86 million shortfall between the £633 million Wales was initially told to expect over the spending period and the £547 million confirmed in October.

Pressed by Ms Medi on the reason for the reduced allocation, Ms Evans told MPs:

“I understand that the decision was taken that some of the funding would be channelled through the Pride in Place fund. Now, that's a UK Government fund – it's not something that the Welsh government are involved with. We haven’t been involved with the design of that, and we don't have a role in the delivery of that either. So, I think, I will check, but I think the funding we're talking about here relates to the Pride in Place funding.”

Speaking on Thursday, Llinos Medi MP said:

“This is Welsh regional funding being top-sliced into a Whitehall-controlled scheme behind closed doors. Money that was promised for communities in Wales has been quietly carved up in London, with no guarantee it will be spent where it is needed. 

“The UK Government cannot claim to respect devolution while diverting funds into programmes that Wales’s government had no role in designing. The failure of that design is clear: only one town in my constituency of Ynys Môn could even qualify for Pride in Place funding.

 “This situation raises serious questions about Labour’s respect for devolution, but more fundamentally it is a question of trust, fairness, and how future settlements for Wales will be protected.”

- ENDS -

PLAID CYMRU SECURES £300M FOR COUNCILS AND THE NHS

‘We acted to protect services and council tax bills, and to create a more sustainable position for a new government – Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

Plaid Cymru have secured £300m for councils and the NHS in Labour’s rollover budget.

 

Plaid Cymru had previously warned that Labour’s draft budget would deal a serious blow to Wales’ public services - pushing councils towards thousands of job losses, forcing steep rises in council tax, and leaving the NHS with a historically low funding uplift.

 

Local Authorities and the NHS will now receive substantially more funding because of Plaid Cymru’s intervention with local authorities set to receive an average uplift of 4.5% with all councils receiving increases above 4%, compared to Labour’s original 2.2%, and the NHS will see a 3.6% uplift compared to 2.1% previously.

 

Plaid Cymru will not vote for the budget but will abstain to allow it to pass.

 

Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said that by allowing the budget to pass in return for the necessary increases in health and council budgets, Plaid Cymru ensured that Labour’s ‘catastrophic’ proposed cuts were avoided.

 

While this remained Labour’s budget to own, Mr ap Iorwerth said without Plaid Cymru stepping in, the next Welsh Government after May’s Senedd election would inherit far weaker foundations and that his party had “acted to protect services now” and to “create a more sustainable position for a new government”.

 

Mr ap Iorwerth said his party was ready to lead the Welsh Government after May with the ‘new leadership’ required to turn things around.

 

Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said,

 

“Plaid Cymru always acts in the best interests of Wales and that is exactly what we are doing on the budget.

 

“Labour’s draft budget would have led to sky-high council tax, unprecedented job losses in our public sector, and a historically low settlement for the NHS. Plaid Cymru will simply not allow this to happen.

 

“We asked for two things - to protect public services and prevent unaffordable council tax rises, and to correct the inadequate NHS settlement caused by Labour’s rollover budget. We have secured both.

“By abstaining in return for the necessary increases in health and council budgets, Plaid Cymru ensures that Labour’s catastrophic proposed cuts are avoided.

 

“Councils and the NHS will now receive substantially more funding because of Plaid Cymru’s intervention. Local authorities will receive an average uplift of 4.5% with all councils receiving increases above 4%, compared to Labour’s original 2.2%, and the NHS will see a 3.6% uplift compared to 2.1% previously.

 

“This remains Labour’s budget to own but without Plaid Cymru stepping in, the next Welsh Government would inherit far weaker foundations. We acted to protect services and council tax bills and to provide a more sustainable position for a new government.

 

“If Plaid Cymru can achieve this in opposition, imagine what we can deliver with the opportunity to lead the next Welsh Government in May - real change and new leadership that puts the people of Wales first."

 

The Leader of Ynys Mon County Council and Plaid Cymru Group Leader on the WLGA, Gary Pritchard said,

 

“This is a welcome intervention and we’re grateful that Plaid Cymru has stepped in where Labour did not. The additional support won’t remove every pressure, but it prevents a disastrous outcome for our communities and gives councils the breathing space we urgently need.

 

“For years, councils have been forced to do more with less, and the point has come where that approach simply isn’t sustainable.

 

“What is needed now is long-term planning, fair funding, and leadership that works with us, not against us. Today’s announcement is a step in the right direction, and we look ahead to May as a real opportunity for new leadership and a fresh, constructive partnership for the future."

 - ENDS -

EDITOR’S NOTES / NODIADAU I’R GOLYGYDD:

 

The final vote on the Welsh Government budget for 2026-27 is expected in January 2026.  Plaid Cymru will abstain.

 

The Welsh Local Government Association had previously warned recently “social care, homelessness, education and workforce costs continue to rise faster than resources can keep up.”

 

The draft local government settlement was published two weeks ago. The auditor general, Adrian Crompton, said councils face a "real squeeze" as costs spiral for children's care and other services.

 

Following Plaid Cymru’s by-election win in Caerphilly, Labour no longer holds a majority in the Senedd. This means it cannot pass its budget without the support of other parties or two additional votes.  A failure to pass the budget would mean the budget will pass at 75% of this year's level which could have a catastrophic effect on public services, with cuts and potentially major job losses. 

FOR WALES, SEE ENGLAND

The UK Railways Bill does nothing to address ‘injustice’ of Welsh railways funding, says Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru has today (Tuesday 9 December) warned that the UK Government’s Railways Bill locks Wales into a broken funding and governance system and fails to recognise the need to devolve powers over railways to Wales.

Ahead of the first debate on the Railways Bill in the House of Commons today, Plaid Cymru’s transport spokesperson in Westminster, Ann Davies MP, said that while the Bill may simplify rail operations in England, it completely fails to address Wales’ lack of control over its own rail infrastructure and the billions in funding the nation loses as a result.

Ms Davies said that the Labour UK Government has “decided to follow the age-old adage that ‘for Wales: See England’ when it comes to this bill. She said it was a “travesty” that a nation which built the first steam locomotive, supplied the steel and coal that powered the UK’s railways is the “only nation in Great Britain without control of its own network.”

The Railways Bill will create Great British Railways (GBR), integrating track and train operations, centralising long-term planning, ticketing and service management for England. But under the Bill, Wales remains tied into an “England and Wales” structure, despite transport being a partly devolved responsibility to Wales.

Plaid Cymru has criticised the legislation for:

• No devolution of rail infrastructure – Unlike Scotland, which has had full control over rail since 2005 and produces its own Long-Term Rail Strategy, Wales will only be ‘consulted’ on an England-and-Wales strategy
• Continuing the broken split in responsibilities – Different governments control different parts of the Welsh network, making coherent rail planning for Wales impossible.
• Zero action on unfair funding – The Bill ignores the billions Wales has lost through the misclassification of major English rail projects such as HS2, East-West Rail, and Northern Powerhouse Rail.
  

Recent analysis shows Wales is set to lose out on roughly £6 billion from these decisions alone. By designating them as “England and Wales” schemes – despite not a single centimetre being built in Wales – the UK Government avoids triggering Barnett consequentials. Scotland and Northern Ireland receive funding; Wales receives nothing.

Ahead of the debate, Ann Davies MP said:

"This bill makes sense for England. However, it does not work for Wales. It fails to address our lack of control over the Welsh rail track, where two governments manage different parts of what should be a single network. This split makes planning railways in the best interests of the people of Wales almost impossible.

“We can see this in the broken promise to electrify the South Wales Mainline beyond Cardiff, or even to start work on the equivalent line in the north. Scotland, by contrast, controls its rail network and sets its own strategy, giving Scottish ministers real influence over Great British Railways. Under this Bill, Welsh ministers can only ask to be consulted – Wales does not want consultation, we deserve control.

“This Government is following the old adage: 'For Wales, see England.' It is a travesty that a nation which built the first steam locomotive, supplied the steel and coal that powered the UK’s railways, is the only nation in Great Britain without control of its own network. Plaid Cymru is clear: Welsh rail should be in Welsh hands. It is time to devolve rail to Wales."

- Ends -

DEALING WITH THE COST OF LIVING CRUNCH

Labour's Budget isn't easing the cost-of-living crunch in Wales

A Plaid Cymru government will:

• create better paid jobs
• expand free childcare and support families
• push the UK government to tax extreme wealth and allow us to profit from our own natural resources

So its time to vote Plaid Cymru on Thursday 7th May 2026

Welsh workers disproportionately hit by income tax threshold freeze

Today (Monday 1st December) Plaid Cymru’s Westminster Leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP accused the UK Government of “message manipulation” in relation to last week’s Autumn Budget. 

 

Ms Saville Roberts said that the freeze on income tax thresholds will hit Wales badly, with an estimated five times more Welsh workers being pulled into the basic rate compared with the UK as a whole. 

 

Labour are claiming that they have not broken any manifesto pledges in relation to raising headline income tax rates but analysis shows that Welsh workers will be disproportinately hit by the freeze on income tax thresholds.  

 

In the House of Commons, Liz Saville Roberts MP said she “presumed” that the UK Government consulted with the Welsh Government on these changes. She urged the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray MP to release the Labour Welsh Government’s response “specifically in relation to confidence and cost of living hit”.  

 

 

Liz Saville Roberts MP said: 

 

“I’m very interested to learn that the Chancellor is in Wales today. 

 

“Amidst all this message manipulation she leaves him to explain exactly why the continued freeze on income tax thresholds will hit Wales badly, with an estimated five times more Welsh workers pulled into the basic rate compared with the UK as a whole. 

 

“I can only presume the Treasury consulted with Labour Welsh Government - will he release their response specifically in relation to confidence and cost of living hit?” 

 

James Murray MP dismissed Ms Saville Roberts’ question and instead repeated some of the Chancellor’s announcement from the Budget that he claimed ‘benefits Wales’. 

 

- ENDS -

EDITOR’S NOTES:

Estimated five times more Welsh workers being pulled into the basic rate compared with the UK as a whole: Frozen 2: Tax Freezes, the 2-Child Limit (and what the 2025 Autumn Budget means for Wales) - Thinking Wales - Meddwl Cymru - Cardiff University