Budget Agreement between Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru

2 Oct 2017 01:00 PM

The Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru have agreed a 2-year, £210m Budget agreement.

The deal includes ensuring no cuts to the Supporting People grant; £15m to improve vital north and south links on the A487 and A470 and a £40m boost for mental health funding over 2 years.

There is an extra £20m-a-year for higher and further education and £6m for a young farmers’ grant scheme over 2 years.

There is additional funding for the Welsh language; for Wales to deal with the impact of Brexit, including support for businesses and for music in schools. The agreement builds on the one struck between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru last year.

It also includes:

• a £7m development fund for undergraduate medical training in North Wales
• £2m to remove the tolls on the Cleddau bridge in Pembrokeshire in 2019-20
• £3m to support the design and development of a third Menai bridge crossing
• a further £2m for the secretariat and investment support for a new ‘Arfor’ economic region in West Wales.

Welsh Government Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford said:

“We are pleased we have been able to agree this 2-year deal with Plaid Cymru, which secures the whole of our Budget.

“This agreement builds on the one reached between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru last year and includes a series of recurrent allocations for the Welsh language, arts, end-of-life-care, mental health, higher education and Visit Wales.

“We have also been able to agree capital funding to take forward the new integrated healthcare centre in Cardigan and the results of the feasibility studies into a national art gallery and football museum in North Wales, which were agreed as part of last year’s agreement.”

Adam Price, Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for finance, business and the economy, said:

“This is a Budget Agreement that will deliver for people and communities in all parts of Wales.

“It protects the vulnerable, invests in our young, and innovates for all our futures. This is a pan-Wales budget agreement, from the Cleddau to the Menai from Wrexham to the Rhondda, from culture to agriculture, from energy and transport to education and health - new ideas for a new Wales.”