Monday, August 11, 2014
A funding boost for Wales
As the General Election approaches the Liberal Democrats today have stepped up to the mark with a practical solution to the underfuinding of the Welsh Government.
We have secured agreement that in our manifesto we will pledge that Wales will have fairer funding for the next parliament, which could mean hundreds of millions of pounds of extra funding for the Welsh Government to put into services.
This follows the findings of the Holtham Commission that the current Barnett formula underfunds Wales. Therefore in government the Liberal Democrats will commission work to update the Holtham Commission’s analysis. The party will then seek, over a parliament, to increase the Welsh block grant to an equitable level. We will also immediately entrench a Barnett ‘floor’ so the underfunding gap cannot increase.
These manifesto commitments will come in the Liberal Democrats’ ‘Pre-Manifesto’, to be published in September.
Our communities and public services are being denied the money which we would receive if there was a fair funding system. For years both Labour and the Tories have defended the status quo and refused to acknowledge that Wales is getting a raw deal. Once again, the Liberal Democrats are showing that we are the only party in Westminster that will make a positive difference for the people of Wales.
We have secured agreement that in our manifesto we will pledge that Wales will have fairer funding for the next parliament, which could mean hundreds of millions of pounds of extra funding for the Welsh Government to put into services.
This follows the findings of the Holtham Commission that the current Barnett formula underfunds Wales. Therefore in government the Liberal Democrats will commission work to update the Holtham Commission’s analysis. The party will then seek, over a parliament, to increase the Welsh block grant to an equitable level. We will also immediately entrench a Barnett ‘floor’ so the underfunding gap cannot increase.
These manifesto commitments will come in the Liberal Democrats’ ‘Pre-Manifesto’, to be published in September.
Our communities and public services are being denied the money which we would receive if there was a fair funding system. For years both Labour and the Tories have defended the status quo and refused to acknowledge that Wales is getting a raw deal. Once again, the Liberal Democrats are showing that we are the only party in Westminster that will make a positive difference for the people of Wales.
