Welsh misallocation of budget

Dear Sir,

Here in the Labour Republic of Wales, in the 2024-25 proposed budget, Climate Change will receive 60% of total capital funding, when Welsh schools and hospitals are decaying and providing the worst service in Britain, itself falling rapidly behind the rest of Europe. Every sector in the list of recipients is a far more pressing priority than climate change.

Wales has been covered with windfarms, under its Government’s so-called strategic plan to achieve Nett Zero by 2050. Hundreds of 700 to 820-feet high wind generators are in the planning process, and automatically will be given the go-ahead under the present guidelines. Farewell the vestiges of Welsh tourism. And as foreign companies design, construct and operate these windfarms, one wonders where the £2.65 billion capital spend in one year will be allocated? It represents thousands of pounds for every household in Wales. For just four windfarms in Carmarthenshire, almost 4 million half-mature trees were chopped down, but figures for dozens of other sites are almost impossible to discover. Suffice it to say that many millions of mature and half-mature trees have been lost, never to be replaced. ‘Green’ energy?

The regime’s lack of insight and research has also recently led to a widespread 20mph limit across the land, to save an estimated 100 lives over 10 years. Police records for 2022 give us 95 deaths and 4,447 casualties across Welsh roads The £32 million cost of altering speed limits from 30 to 20mph across cities, towns, villages and hamlets across Wales will, according to the Welsh Government, save up to 100 lives and 20,000 casualties over the next decade – very useful round numbers for publicity. Using 95 deaths as a base, there would be 950 deaths over 10 years, but 850 with the new speed limits, a drop of 10.5%. Upon the same basis, 44,470 casualties would drop far more to 20,000, a decrease of 55%. The discrepancy is not explained. However, a vehicle traveling at 20mph in 3^rd gear produces around the same rpm and thus emissions as one at 30mph in 4^th gear. For any given journey, it will perhaps create 50% more pollution in 50% longer time with concomitant lung and cancer-related killing conditions. Also, from personal experience, there are longer queues of vehicles idling at roundabouts, junctions and traffic lights. The Welsh NHS cannot cope as it is! So much, again, for joined-up thinking.

The Minister writes ‘We are facing a climate and nature emergency’. Perhaps she believes that the rest of the world will follow our example, that is, if anyone across the world knows about little Wales. This is a form of arrogance, believing that the world revolves around what Wales does. If Wales was wiped out, it would make zero difference to climate, but the politicians of this tiny poor nation want to lead the world in its approach to climate action. Incidentally China, India and Indonesia are building hundreds of massive coal-fuelled power stations annually. World population is growing from around 8 billion by 83 million a year. Every fortnight, there is population growth of 3,500,000, half a million more than the population of Wales. We can see below that £2.65 billion of the combined capital and revenue budgets of £22.8 billion will be spent on climate change, almost 12% of total Welsh funding. Alarmingly, the previous budgets for 2022-23 and 2023-24 show similar levels of funding for climate change. How is it being spent?

TOTAL REVENUE FUNDING 2024-25

Health and Social Services £10.1 billion [51%]

Finance and Local Government £5.8 billion

Education and the Welsh language £1.8 billion  

Climate Change £948 million [5%]

Economy £436 million

Rural Affairs £399 million

Central Services and Administration £331 million

Social Justice £142 million 

TOTAL £19.956 billion

‘Revenue funding is money we can use to pay people’s wages and run schools and hospitals or to help businesses and charities that help people or look after our environment.’ In the 2024-25 proposed Budget, Climate Change is the third highest priority for revenue funding, after Health and Social Services; and Education and the Welsh Language. It will receive more than twice as much funding as the Economy and Rural Affairs sectors.

TOTAL CAPITAL FUNDING 2024-2025

Climate Change £1.7 billion [60%]

Health and Social Services £375 million

Education and the Welsh language £373 million

Finance and Local Government £224 million

Economy £106 million

Rural Affairs £37 million

Social £18 million

Central Services and Administration £10 million

TOTAL £2.843 billion

‘Capital funding is money we can use to spend on buildings, houses, roads, energy projects like wind turbines, new hospitals and schools.‘ Where climate change funding disappears is a mystery.

https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2022-12/draft-budget-2023-2024-leaflet.pdf