Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of inflation on devolved assemblies' budgets for health services.

The devolved administrations are well-funded to deliver all their devolved responsibilities, including health services.

The 2021 Spending Review set the largest annual block grants, in real terms, of any spending review settlement since the devolution Acts. Those settlements are still growing in real terms this year, and over the three-year spending review period, despite inflation being higher than expected.

This provides the devolved administrations with over 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in other parts of the UK. This is around 25% more for the Scottish Government and around 20% more for the Welsh Government and NI Executive. It is for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their funding in devolved areas.

Like many countries, the UK faces the twin challenge of a recession and high inflation as global energy price rises have been exacerbated by Putin’s war in Ukraine. The Government has set out its plan to halve inflation over the course of this year by remaining steadfast in support for the independent Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England, making difficult but responsible decisions on tax and spending to not add fuel to the fire, and by tackling high energy prices by holding down energy bills for households and businesses this year and next and investing in long-term energy security.