Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.
Ben Lake MP has accused the UK government of changing its position on the classification of the East West Rail project, resulting in financial implications for Wales. The £6.6bn Oxford-Cambridge rail line project had originally been categorized as England-only, leading to expectations of additional funding for Wales. However, recent revelations show that the project was retroactively reclassified as an England and Wales initiative, meaning Wales will not receive any extra funds. The Treasury claimed that a “publishing error” in a 2020 document led to the confusion, asserting that the project had always been considered England and Wales inclusive. Plaid Cymru MP Ben Lake dismissed this explanation as “completely implausible.”
The UK government has disclosed that the East-West project is funded through the “rail network enhancements pipeline,” which also supports schemes in Wales. Ben Lake, representing Ceredigion Preseli, criticized the government for altering the project’s classification, accusing them of shifting the rules midway. Funding allocation for Wales is determined through the Barnett formula, which calculates the consequent funding based on UK government spending in England. Guto Ifan, a prominent academic from Cardiff University, revealed that Wales had already received approximately £1.1m in consequential funding from the Oxford-Cambridge project. He emphasized that the adjustment in classification without consultation or transparent rationale highlights the subjective nature of applying the Barnett formula to rail infrastructure in Wales.
In response to the controversy, the Treasury acknowledged the error as a “publishing error” that will be rectified in the upcoming spending review. The HS2 line, another project deemed an England and Wales initiative, did not result in additional funding for Wales, unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland. Following a change in government from the Conservatives to Labour last year, the Welsh government under Labour administration requested the reclassification of HS2 from their UK counterparts, but to no avail. Ben Lake lamented that Wales had actually suffered losses due to the reclassification, contrasting it with promises made earlier in the year regarding the impossibility of rectifying injustices inherited from previous governments.
During First Minister’s Questions, Eluned Morgan defended the classification of the East West Rail project and highlighted the complexities of the Welsh devolution settlement. She emphasized that rail infrastructure is currently non-devolved to Wales, leading to challenges in resource allocation. Expressing concerns over the fairness of resource distribution, she anticipated the implications that the forthcoming spending review might hold. The Welsh government is expected to provide a statement on the matter in due course
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.