Chancellor John Healey has announced the first Budget of Andy Burnham's government, delivering an extra £450m in funding for Wales. The Budget also provides funding for devolved governments, including Wales, to offer support similar to the £100 Household Energy Payment given to households in England, though it has yet to be confirmed how that will work in Wales.
Investment announcements for Wales
Mr Healey made several investment announcements for Wales, including £30m for Cardiff Parkway railway station, £2.5m for M-SParc in Anglesey, and £11m to replace Aberavon Bridge in Port Talbot.
Welsh councils will now look ahead to the Welsh Government's budget and next year's UK Spending Review to see how Rhun ap Iorwerth's administration spends the extra £450m.
Finance minister's response
The Welsh Government's finance minister, Plaid's Elin Jones, has called the UK Government's Budget a "real-terms cut dressed up as a windfall," claiming that Wales has been "ignored again."
Responding to the UK Government's Budget, the cabinet minister for finance Elin Jones said: "This is a real-terms cut dressed up as a windfall. The UK Government will try to present today's budget as a win for Wales. It isn't. Once you account for inflation, this is still a real-terms cut to our funding, not new money that improves our position."
"Today's budget hasn't shifted the dial. Our fiscal position is worse than it was before the Chancellor stood up, and that has direct consequences for our own Budget on 17 November."
"We will need to make tough choices, prioritise wisely, and drive further efficiency across the public sector, so that we can sustain investment in the areas that matter most to people in Wales. On rail, fiscal flexibilities and public services, Wales has been ignored again."
Impact on spending
For smokers, each pack of cigarettes will cost £21 more each year in 2027/28, driven mainly by tobacco duty. This price increase is the same as 17 pints of beer, driven mainly by alcohol duty.
