Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she last met with the Welsh Government to discuss the potential impact of the increase in employer National Insurance Contributions on public sector employers in Wales.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor agreed to provide funding to the public sector to support them with the additional cost associated with changes to employer National Insurance Contributions policy.

The Welsh Government received £185 million of this support through the Barnett formula. This is the normal operation of the funding arrangements as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy. It is for the Welsh Government to allocate this funding in devolved areas including funding for local authorities as it sees fit, reflecting its own priorities and local circumstances, and it is accountable to the Senedd for these decisions.

HM Treasury ministers regularly engage with their Welsh Government counterparts, including through forums such as the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee (F:ISC), to discuss a range of issues affecting Wales, including the impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on Welsh Government funding. The most recent F:ISC was on 17 October where these topics were discussed.