‘UK government must pay for Wales’ public service pay rises’
THE UK Government must stump up the cash before the public sector pay cap can be lifted in Wales, Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford has warned ahead of this week’s Welsh Budget.
Labour and Plaid Cymru have struck a £210m deal to get the Budget passed but the Welsh Conservatives accused the parties of giving up their “principles” by not taking action on public sector pay or tuition fees.
The Welsh Government will publish its draft Budget tomorrow. The deal with Plaid Cymru should allow Welsh ministers to get budgets passed in both 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said: “This Budget deal is the latest charade in the Plaid-Labour love affair and significantly sees both parties break a number of election promises to the people of Wales.
“Despite the well-publicised vows to the electorate only three months ago, and being in government in Wales, the Labour party has once again failed to take any action on public sector pay or tuition fees.”
The Budget deal includes £30m of funding for the Tata power plant in Port Talbot, as well as £15m to improve links on the A487 and A470, plus a £40m boost for mental health funding over two years.
In addition, there will be an extra £20m-a-year for higher and further education.
Mr Davies said it was “clear Leanne Wood and Plaid Cymru have done this in a last-ditch attempt to remain relevant, and in doing so sacrificed their political principles”, adding: “Both parties have given up on their political principles on tuition fees, public sector pay and M4 for another cosy back-room deal.”
Labour has pledged to abolish tuition fees in England, and Mr Drakeford suggested it could be possible to do more if his party wins power in Westminster.
He told the BBC: “Tuition fees in Wales are a third of what they are in England so there are no lessons to be taken from the Tories... When we have a Labour Government – and that cannot come soon enough – then the Welsh Labour Government will be in a different position and we will be able to do different things.”
Mr Drakeford also insisted Theresa May’s Government must provide cash for the public sector pay cap to be lifted.
He said: “Our position on the public sector pay cap is absolutely clear. The cap is a UK Government policy.
“They must lift the cap. We want our public servants to be properly rewarded but they must find the money to pay for it.
“It would be the single biggest fraud if this Government was to say that it had lifted the pay cap and gave me no money to pay for it.”
Mr Drakeford described the Budget process as a “genuinely difficult balancing act” but said all Labour AMs could support the measures in the Budget deal, stating: “There’s nothing on the list of things that we have agreed with Plaid Cymru that we do not want to do... There’s nothing on this list that a Labour Assembly Member will not be pleased to vote for.”
Plaid Cymru finance spokesman Adam Price has said the party is “frustrated” the Welsh Government “rejected our calls for action on crucial issues such as the pay cap and tuition fees”.
However, a Ukip spokesman said: “The people of Wales will be appalled by Plaid Cymru engaging in another grubby back-room deal with Labour. It’s yet more evidence that Plaid are a false opposition.
“The Welsh people deserve better.”