UK Government announces £135 million extra for Welsh Government to “progress their vaccine rollout and wider Covid-19 response”
£430 million of additional funding from the UK Reserve will be made available to the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to “progress their vaccine rollout and wider Covid-19 response” say the UK Government.
In a statement UK Government have said, “While the devolved administrations are well-funded to continue their response to Covid-19, and have their own reserves and contingency funds, any additional in-year Barnett funding will not be confirmed until early 2022 through the Supplementary Estimates process. HM Treasury has therefore announced that additional funding will be made available to the devolved administrations to provide greater certainty and allow them to plan as they tackle Covid-19 during the crucial weeks ahead.”
The amounts being provided to each government are:
- Scottish Government – £220 million
- Welsh Government – £135 million
- Northern Ireland Executive – £75 million
“These amounts will be kept under review in the coming weeks” the statement added, “It means that the devolved administrations have the certainty they requested to spend additional funding now rather than waiting for Supplementary Estimates in the new year. ”
These are “additional amounts” on top of the funding set out at the Autumn Budget 2021, relating to health pressures and the Covid-19 Additional Relief Funding.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “Throughout this pandemic, the United Kingdom has stood together as one family, and we will continue to do so.
“We are working with the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to drive the vaccine rollout to all corners of the United Kingdom and ensure people and businesses all across the country are supported.”
Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart said: “During the past two years we have tackled the pandemic as one United Kingdom, with the UK Government providing vaccines, Covid testing and Armed Forces support in Wales as well as our ground-breaking financial measures which have protected around 500,000 livelihoods in Wales.
“This funding announcement provides certainty for the devolved Welsh Government as it looks to plan its pandemic response for the coming weeks and will be followed by a record £18bn a year settlement from the recent Budget so Welsh Government can deliver vital services including health, education and flood protection in the coming years.
“We will continue to do everything we can to build back better from the pandemic, creating jobs and growing a strong economy in Wales and across the UK.”
In an explanatory note, the maths is detailed, that the amount of funding provided up front to each devolved administration is more than the Barnett consequentials confirmed at Supplementary Estimates then the difference will be repaid in 2022-23, or over the Spending Review period if necessary.
If the Barnett consequentials are higher than the amount provided up front then the devolved administrations will keep the extra funding.
The UK Government has already provided the devolved administrations with an extra £12.6 billion through the Barnett formula this year – this includes £1.3 billion confirmed at the recent Autumn Budget, which took their total funding this year to £77.6 billion.
This is on top of UK Government spending on vaccines and tests for the whole of the UK and UK-wide support for businesses and jobs.
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