First Minister confirms “difficult decisions” lie ahead in order to finance M4 relief road and bridge tolls

The First Minister today confirmed that “difficult decisions” lie ahead “over the next year or two” in finding the necessary funds to finance the scrapping of the Severn Bridge tolls, implementing the reduced class-size policy and building an M4 relief road.

The building of the Welsh Labour Government’s preferred ‘black route’, estimated to cost up to £1.2billion, can be partly funded by a £500m borrowing facility provided by the UK Treasury, but the rest would have to be drawn from the Welsh Government’s own funds.

When pressed by Leader of the Welsh Conservatives Andrew RT Davies during plenary on where in the budget the remaining £500m would be drawn, Carwyn Jones was unable to offer any detail over how his government would meet those liabilities, and said “difficult decisions lay ahead over the next year or two”.

Nor was Cawryn Jones able to confirm how the approximate combined £62m cost of financing the scrapping of the Severn Bridge tolls (£20m) and the rolling out the reduced class-size policy (£42m) would be met. Furthermore, he would not give details as to how the extra spending on these projects would affect infrastructure projects elsewhere in Wales, such as improving the A55 in North Wales.

Speaking outside the Assembly Chamber, Andrew RT Davies said:

“Yet again the First Minister has failed to offer any detail over where in the budget he intends to find the extra millions to fund these projects – perhaps he has a bottomless pot of gold of which we are unaware.

“It’s all very well saying you intend to borrow millions of pounds, but you have to have an income stream to pay it back. The measures he proposes may be attractive but he has to prove whether or not he can afford them, and to date he has failed to do so.

“The First Minister has displayed nothing more than the same old Labour mentality of borrow now and worry later. It is clear that he is making it up as he goes along and it’s the people of Wales will suffer because of this cavalier attitude to governance.”