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Chancellor cuts Welsh government budget by 2% | Chancellor cuts Welsh government budget by 2% |
(35 minutes later) | |
The Welsh government's budget will be cut by 2% in 2015 as part of Chancellor George Osborne's spending review. | |
Mr Osborne said the revenue budget would be set at £13.6bn and UK ministers would respond to the Silk commission on assembly powers shortly. | |
He said he would then give details of "impressive" M4 relief road plans. | |
Welsh ministers welcomed news on Silk and the M4 but warned the cuts would have a "negative impact on all of us". | |
The Wales Office, the Whitehall department which represents Wales in the UK government, has agreed a cut of 10% in its running costs. | The Wales Office, the Whitehall department which represents Wales in the UK government, has agreed a cut of 10% in its running costs. |
The chancellor was setting out spending cuts for 2015/16 forced on him by slower than expected economic growth and deficit reduction. | |
Labour has said it will stick to the plans if it wins the 2015 election. | Labour has said it will stick to the plans if it wins the 2015 election. |
The Welsh government budget cuts are part of £11.5bn savings from the UK government's overall spending plans of £740bn. | The Welsh government budget cuts are part of £11.5bn savings from the UK government's overall spending plans of £740bn. |
The Scottish government and Northern Ireland executive have also had their budgets cut by 2%. | The Scottish government and Northern Ireland executive have also had their budgets cut by 2%. |
There is a slight increase of 0.3 per cent to the Welsh government's capital budget from £1.4bn to £1.5bn. | |
Mr Osborne has twice highlighted the need for a M4 relief road around Newport. | Mr Osborne has twice highlighted the need for a M4 relief road around Newport. |
Supporters of the scheme were expecting him to give it the go-ahead this week but may have to wait a little longer. | Supporters of the scheme were expecting him to give it the go-ahead this week but may have to wait a little longer. |
Questions remain over how a project costing up to £1bn will be paid for. | Questions remain over how a project costing up to £1bn will be paid for. |
'Priorities' warning | |
Welsh Secretary David Jones said Welsh government day-to-day spending had been "largely protected" because of the way the funding formula for Wales reflected "the protections afforded by this [UK] government to education and health [in England]". | |
"We have also heard today that this government will freeze council tax in England for the next two years and will reform its funding to social care," he said. | "We have also heard today that this government will freeze council tax in England for the next two years and will reform its funding to social care," he said. |
"Clearly, decisions on how the Welsh government spends its budgets are rightly, a matter for the Welsh government. | |
"However, I would urge the Welsh government to note these measures very carefully and consider how they make their allocations in line with their own priorities." | |
The Welsh government's finance minister Jane Hutt welcomed the prospect of news about devolved powers and an M4 upgrade. | |
But on the budget reduction she said: "With £11.5bn of UK government cuts, this was always going to have a negative impact on all of us." | |
She added that overall the Welsh government's revenue budget in 2015-16 would be £280m lower in real terms than in 2014-15, and £1.68bn lower than 2010-11. | |
'Political trap' | |
Plaid Cymru insisted it was the party which offered the "only hope" for "struggling communities and businesses in Wales". | |
The party's Treasury spokesman Jonathan Edwards MP said Mr Osborne laid a political trap for Labour that they had "fallen into hook, line, and sinker" by accepting austerity cuts if they formed the next government. | The party's Treasury spokesman Jonathan Edwards MP said Mr Osborne laid a political trap for Labour that they had "fallen into hook, line, and sinker" by accepting austerity cuts if they formed the next government. |
"This leaves the people of Wales with absolutely no difference between Tory austerity and Labour austerity." | "This leaves the people of Wales with absolutely no difference between Tory austerity and Labour austerity." |
Meanwhile the UK government has confirmed it will not reduce its funding for Welsh-language television channel S4C under the spending review. | Meanwhile the UK government has confirmed it will not reduce its funding for Welsh-language television channel S4C under the spending review. |
S4C received £6.7m from UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 2013, but is now mostly funded from the BBC licence fee. | S4C received £6.7m from UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 2013, but is now mostly funded from the BBC licence fee. |