7. Welsh Conservatives Debate: Welsh Government Funding

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:29 pm on 27 November 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Darren Millar Darren Millar Conservative 5:29, 27 November 2019

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I have to say, I'm a little disappointed with the Government response today. It was rather mealymouthed of them not to actually recognise the significant achievements of the UK Government in increasing the expenditure available to Wales. Of course, we have a record block grant this year here in Wales in cash terms—we know that that is the case. And we also know that it's the UK Government that delivered this fiscal framework. It takes two to tango. I recognise very much that the Welsh Government had to work with the UK Government, but that settlement was a mutually agreed settlement, and it's a bit disappointing that the Welsh Government hasn't recognised the role that the UK Government played in securing that.

It is a fact, as Nick Ramsay quite rightly said in his opening speech, that Wales receives £1.20 for every pound that is spent in England at the moment. I note that even the Welsh Government recognises that not all of that money is actually passed on to the national health service or our education system. You've quoted the figures yourself in your amendment. You said that spending is only 11 per cent higher here in Wales than in England, when, actually, it would be 20 per cent higher. That's what the facts actually are. I know you don't like it—[Interruption.] I know you don't like to hear this, but let me just spell it out—[Interruption.] Let's just spell this out very clearly: the fact is Wales receives £1.20 for every £1, but you're only spending £1.11 of that on the NHS and 6p more in terms of spending on education. So, that's way down.

What are you doing with the rest of the money? I'll tell you what you're doing, you're squandering a lot of it. You heard some references to those things that are being squandered from Angela Burns, Mohammad Asghar and others on these benches during the course of the debate. So, there are no excuses for the fact that you, as a Government, are failing to invest in our health service and failing to invest in our schools. That's why it should be no surprise that we have one of the worst performing education systems in the UK—in fact, the worst according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development—and why our waiting times are longer, our ambulance service is worse, and our emergency department performance is worse here than in other parts of the United Kingdom. So, you said that you're being shortchanged by the UK Government; the reality is you're shortchanging our national health service and you are shortchanging our schools.

I smirk to myself every time Plaid Cymru get up and talk about the failures of previous Governments in this Chamber, because the party always fails to recognise its own responsibility when it was in Government here in Wales, propping up the Labour Government. I remember when Ieuan Wyn Jones was the Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport. In that time, we sent back £77 million in unspent EU aid in 2009, during his tenure: £77 million-worth of investment that could have been spent usefully to try and improve the economy of Wales. I'll happily take the intervention.