Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government as a result of the latest total for public investment in HS2 how much funding under the Barnett formula they estimate will go to (1) Scotland, (2) Wales, and (3) Northern Ireland.

The Barnett formula will continue to apply as set out in the published Statement of Funding Policy.

The UK Government is responsible for much of the rail infrastructure in Wales, and therefore spends money on this infrastructure rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so through the Barnett formula. In line with this responsibility, the UK Government is currently delivering an ambitious programme to upgrade Welsh railways.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, rail infrastructure is a devolved responsibility, so the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive receive funding through Barnett formula. The Barnett formula is applied at fiscal events when UK Government departmental budgets are set rather than being applied when departments announce how they are spending their budgets.

The Block Grant Transparency publication breaks down all changes in the devolved governments’ block grant funding from the 2015 Spending Review up to and including Main Estimates 2023-24. The most recent report was published in July 2023.

Overall, the devolved governments’ funding is at least 20% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending in other parts of the UK and the devolved governments can allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit.