Budget 2026
Budget adds £450m for Wales, but Welsh finance minister calls it a real-terms cut
The UK Government says its Budget gives the Welsh Government £450 million more for public services. Elin Jones says it does not shift the dial before Wales's own Budget on 17 November.
The UK Government says Wednesday's Budget gives the Welsh Government an additional £450 million for public services, on top of the extra £1 billion from Budget 2025 and the Spring Forecast 2026. Wales Secretary Stephen Kinnock said the Budget would give households in Wales "breathing space". The Welsh Government's Cabinet Minister for Finance, Elin Jones, said it was "a real-terms cut dressed up as a windfall".
The UK Government's Wales release lists £30 million for the next stage of Cardiff Parkway station, £2.5 million to expand the M-SParc science park on Anglesey and £11 million to replace the Aberavon Bridge in Port Talbot. The last two are subject to business cases. On household bills it says the 4% tariff on kerosene will be removed, which it says helps 105,000 Welsh households that heat with oil, and 0% VAT on household electricity will be extended for three months to 30 June 2027. The 5p fuel duty cut is extended to the same date. The UK Government also says the Welsh Government has at least £1.20 to spend per person for every £1 of equivalent UK government spending per person elsewhere in the UK, and puts the £450 million on top of £1 billion from earlier fiscal events, about £1.45 billion across three. Those comparisons are the UK Government's own.