Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government why the cost of Crossrail in England justified consequential proportionate funding for Wales while the construction of HS2 in England does not.

HS2 is a heavy rail programme. The UK Government is responsible for heavy rail infrastructure across England and Wales, so spends money on this in Wales rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so through the Barnett formula. This approach is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas reserved in Wales, as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.

The Government remains committed to heavy rail schemes in Wales, by providing funding for both operations, maintenance and infrastructure, and enhancement schemes such as modernising Cardiff Central Station.

Conversely, Crossrail is a local transport project. Since local transport is devolved to the Welsh Government, the Barnett formula is applied in the usual way when the Department for Transport is allocated additional funding for Crossrail.