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The Welsh government’s draft budget has been described as “riddled with empty words” by the Senedd’s finance committee, which has called for “urgent changes” to be made to the spending plans. The committee argues that the cost of living crisis facing many in Wales should be a “higher priority”. The draft budget was published by Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford in December and involves a £26bn budget. It will be put to a vote in the Senedd on Tuesday, ahead of a final vote in March.
The budget includes increased funding for all government departments in 2025-26, in contrast to 2024-25, which cut funding for most departments apart from health. The new budget has benefited from increased funding from the Labour Government in Westminster. Despite the optimistic outlook, the Senedd’s finance committee has scrutinized the plans and believes they fail to match the government’s rhetoric.
The committee’s chair, Peredur Owen Griffiths, said: “Today’s report outlines serious concerns about the proposed budget and provides clear recommendations for the Welsh government to consider. If the upcoming budget is meant to signal a new start and a break from austerity, unfortunately, there’s still quite some work to do.”
The Senedd’s finance committee has made 39 recommendations, backing a report that calls for preventative measures to tackle poverty and health issues. The report accuses the government of being “more focused on firefighting issues… at the expense of longer term, strategic budgeting”. It also raises concerns about the impending increase in National Insurance contributions for employers and called for the Welsh government to provide an update on the level of support that would be forthcoming from Westminster.
Labour will need to form an alliance with another party to get the budget through as they do not hold a majority in the Senedd. Tuesday’s vote will not hold any immediate binding consequences, but a defeat for the government would draw attention to the pressures it faces ahead of the final vote in March. In response, the Welsh government released a statement saying that it would take the finance committee’s recommendations into careful consideration before releasing its final budget later this month
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