Welsh Government lacking “candour and transparency” in draft budget, says Senedd Finance Committee

The Senedd Finance Committee has criticised the Welsh Government for lacking transparency in its draft budget proposals for the next financial year.

In its report, the Committee analysed the Welsh Government’s proposed spending and taxation plans and concluded that explanations around funding priorities were unclear.

The report found that the Welsh Government has failed to provide clear information on the budget’s impact, leaving the public in the dark about where the spending axe will fall.

The Welsh Government has powers to raise or lower income tax in Wales, but the Finance Committee criticised the Finance Minister, Rebecca Evans MS, for refusing to examine the impact of varying the tax rates.

The Committee argued that this suggests that the Welsh Government had not seriously considered changing tax rates for the next financial year.

Inflation and a poor relationship between the Welsh and UK governments were also seen as contributing to the uncertainty in the Welsh Government’s proposals.

The Finance Committee has called on the Welsh Government to reconsider its support for people’s living costs, fast-tracking the introduction of a Welsh Benefits Charter, a unified benefits system that would provide better support to those struggling with the rising cost of living.

The Committee has also recommended expanding free childcare and increasing the value of the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) to give more financial support to 16-19 year olds who wish to continue learning.

Pressures on public services, including the health and social care sector, were also noted in the report.

The Committee called the lack of clarity from the Welsh Government “worrying” and warned that identifying spending priorities was pointless if it wasn’t accompanied by details of the areas that will receive less funding.

The Committee also expressed concerns about the recruitment and retention of staff in the sector and called for the Welsh Government to assist local authorities.

Peredur Owen Griffiths, Chair of the Finance Committee, said, “We understand that the funding decisions facing the Welsh Government are extraordinarily tough, but we were surprised and worried at the lack of candour in the Draft Budget. This is not the right way to deal with our Committee and the Senedd generally, and undermines legitimate democratic scrutiny.

“The Draft Budget’s lack of detail – exacerbated by inflation and poor communication between Welsh and UK governments – is worrying, and it was surprising to learn that the Finance Minister had not made a proper assessment of changing the tax rates which suggests that it was never a serious consideration.”

The Draft Budget will be debated in the Senedd on Tuesday, 7 February.

A final Budget is presented by the Welsh Government on 28 February, which is subsequently debated in the Senedd on 7 March.

The Committees’ responses in full are available to read here.