Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the press notice entitled Major investment to boost growth and cement Britain’s place as cultural powerhouse, published on 20 February 2025, what consequential funding through the Barnett formula will be provided to Wales.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Barnett formula is applied when departmental budgets change – not when departments announce how they are spending their budgets. The Barnett formula was applied in the usual way, as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy, when the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s budget changed at Phase 1 of the Spending Review 2025.
The Welsh Government’s Phase 1 Spending Review 2025 settlement for 2025-26 is the largest in real terms of any Welsh Government settlement since devolution. The Welsh Government is receiving at least 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in England. That translates into over £4 billion more in 2025-26.
The published Block Grant Transparency document provides a detailed breakdown of how the block grants are calculated and the next iteration will be published in due course.
Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the rate of child benefit by £20 per week for each child.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
All working-age benefits (including Child Benefit, the child element of Universal Credit, and Child Tax Credit) were uprated in full from April 2024, by September 2023 CPI of 6.7%. Beyond the receipt of benefits, the Government is committed to supporting children and families. At the King’s Speech, the Government set out plans to introduce free breakfast clubs in every primary school, to bring down costs for parents. Growth is our number one mission, which will help families by boosting wages and putting more money in people’s pockets.
To give every child the very best start at life, the Government is also prioritising work to develop an ambitious and comprehensive strategy to reduce child poverty through the Ministerial taskforce on Child Poverty.