CEREDIGION MP Ben Lake has told the Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt that Welsh public services ‘need urgent financial support’

Plaid Cymru’s Treasury spokesperson has written to Mr Hunt calling for a review of the Barnett formula to ensure ‘fair funding for Wales’, after the commitment of a £3.3 billion funding package for Northern Ireland, including over £1 billion earmarked for supporting public services.

Mr Lake pointed out that Welsh councils report a looming funding gap of up to £1.294 billion by 2026-2027, forcing them into a precarious position of cuts and council tax increases.

Plaid Cymru have now requested that the Treasury urgently commits to providing an equivalent package of support to that offered to Northern Ireland to support county councils and public services in Wales.

They say that if such a package were to replicate the Northern Ireland offer per capita, public services in Wales would receive around £5.4 billion.

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Mr Lake has called for a review to assess replacing the Barnett formula with a ‘new system that moves away from ad-hoc funding of our public services and towards a framework which provides consistent, transparent, and fair funding for Wales’.

“I warmly welcome the restoration of the devolved institutions at Stormont which will bring much needed stability for the people of Northern Ireland,” he wrote.

“I note that as part of this restoration, the Executive at Stormont will be receiving a funding package of more than £3.3 billion, including over £1 billion to support public services.

“As in Northern Ireland, public services in Wales need urgent financial support. Welsh councils report that they are facing a cumulative funding gap of up to £1.294 billion by 2026-2027.

“As a result of this shortfall, councils are having to consider large increases to local taxation in addition to significant cuts to the services they provide. Local authorities in England have also expressed concerns about a lack of funding.

“I therefore write to request that the Treasury urgently commits to providing an equivalent package of support to that offered to Northern Ireland to support county councils and public services in Wales.

“If such a package were to replicate the Northern Ireland offer per capita, I understand that public services in Wales would receive around £5.4 billion.

“I also note that the package for Northern Ireland includes an uplift of 124 per cent in Barnett Formula funding from 2024/2025.

“As you will be aware, this adjustment has been justified based on an assumed precedent of a Welsh funding floor of 115 per cent.

“But this 115 per cent is not based on Wales’ current level of assessed need, but rather on estimates made by the Holtham Commission in 2010 that drew from 2001 Census data. Since then, Wales’s needs and population have changed radically and urgently require review.”