Wales WILL get consequentials from HS2

In response to misleading statements today on HS2 and consequential, the Welsh Government can confirm that Wales will be receiving additional funding.

Welsh Ministers have made representations to the UK Government to ensure Wales gets its fair share of additional funding as a result of HS2, as announced in the Finance Minister’s response to the CSR.

As a result, Wales will receive a Barnett consequential of over £755m over the next 5 years because of increased UK Department for Transport budgets, a consequence of the investment being made in HS2.  The way Barnett works is that we get a share of the departmental spend for transport – not individual programmes.

The devolution settlement differs for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – for example rail infrastructure is devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland but not to Wales. As a result, the mechanics of the Barnett formula are a bit different for each administration and additional funding is allocated somewhat differently. But the fact is that Wales has received significant additional funding over this SR period as a result of increases in the Department for Transport budget which in large part arise from funding for HS2.