Budget 2021: £740m extra for Welsh Government, says Rishi Sunak
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The 2021 Budget will result in an extra £740m for the Welsh Government, Rishi Sunak has said.
Mr Sunak said the majority of the measures in the budget will apply to people "in all four nations" of the United Kingdom.
Welsh ministers will have less to spend than at the height of the pandemic, but there will be more cash for Covid than previously announced.
Meanwhile the chancellor announced that furlough is being extended.
VAT and national insurance rates will not rise, although more people will be pushed into the top income tax bracket.
Plaid Cymru claimed only five per cent of the money announced for Wales was new.
The chancellor told the Commons: "Our future economy depends on remaining a United Kingdom.
"Millions of families and businesses in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, have contributed to and benefited from our coronavirus response and central to that has been a Treasury that acts for the whole United Kingdom.
"That's not a political point, it's an undeniable truth. The majority of today's budget measures will apply directly to people in all four nations of the United Kingdom."
Treasury documents say the budget provides an extra £740m in cash triggered by spending in England - giving the Welsh Government an additional £2.1bn in 2021-22 when previous commitments are added on.
What is the Welsh Government getting?
However, the budgets documents show that the Welsh Government will receive less money in 2021-22 than in 2020-21, because the amount spent on Covid will be smaller.
The amount of Covid money is more than had been planned at the Spending Review last year, when it was around £770m.
Core funding for non-Covid matters will stay at the same at £15.9bn. £5.9bn was provided to Welsh ministers for Covid in 2020-21, but this will fall to £1.5bn in 2021-22.
The Welsh Government, based in Cardiff, can spend the money on areas it controls, like the NHS and schools.
Meanwhile the £20 uplift in Universal Credit is to be extended for another six months.
The most recent figures show there are around 280,000 people receiving Universal Credit in Wales.
In Wales, 178,000 people are on furlough - 14% of the Welsh workforce.
Some announcements - like an extension to the business rate holiday - were for England only.
The Welsh Government has been awaiting today's Budget to decide if it would continue rate relief for some of the hardest hit sectors.
Welsh Conservative Senedd leader, Andrew RT Davies, said: "At the start of this pandemic, as Conservatives we said we would do whatever it takes to protect jobs and livelihoods - and today's budget continues that commitment to families, workers and businesses across Wales."
Mr Sunak also announced plans for extra funding for three Welsh city and growth deals, cash for a rail testing site and money for a hydrogen production centre.
Plaid Cymru's treasury spokesman Ben Lake said: "This is a Budget of half measures and quick fixes - a Budget that does not begin to measure up to the scale of the challenges we face.
"The decision to delay the cut to Universal Credit instead of securing incomes in the long-term by making it permanent will lead to 26,000 families in Wales not being able to afford essentials in six months' time.
"Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of self-employed remain excluded, despite the welcome extension of the self-employed scheme.
"After acknowledging the errors of the past year by including those with 2019-20 tax returns, the government must now provide compensation to those deprived of support for an entire year due to the Treasury's decisions."