SAM ROWLANDS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, has called for a review of the fiscal framework in Wales.
Speaking in the Senedd during a Plaid Cymru Debate: Funding formula for Wales, Mr Rowlands, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance, urged members to support a full review of the 2016 agreement between the Welsh and UK Governments on funding and tax powers.
He said: “The fiscal framework and funding formula have been the source of much debate over the years. Not always something that gets the juices flowing necessarily, or captures the necessary headlines, but we know that getting the funding formula right is fundamental to the delivery of public services here in Wales.
“In simple terms, the Welsh Government receives £1.20 from the UK Government for every £1 spent on public services in England. This is the headline funding arrangement that was introduced following the 2015 UK Conservative Government’s review of funding into Wales, known as the fiscal framework.
“Scotland has had two reviews in their funding settlement, whereas Wales has had none in the same time frame. Our friends in Northern Ireland have benefited from recent reviews too.
“Their most recent review, published in 2024, provides a Barnett needs assessment of a 24% increase, against Wales’s 20%. S
“o, it doesn’t seem right to me that, while Scotland has had reviews, Northern Ireland has had a review, Wales has yet to have the review.
“I would urge the Welsh Government to do its part in banging that drum for Wales and engage with UK Government on these issues.”
The debate received cross-party support and members unanimously called for a fairer funding formula for Wales.
