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Rise in Welsh spending slows down | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Welsh Assembly Government spending will rise by an average of 2.4% a year above inflation for the next three years, says the Treasury. | |
It means that while more money will be available for public services like schools and hospitals, spending will not rise as quickly as previously. | |
The details were announced as part of Chancellor Alistair Darling's Comprehensive Spending Review. | |
Assembly government spending will go up from £14bn to £16bn by 2010, he said. | |
Welsh Secretary Peter Hain said extra public spending in Wales would continue to outstrip spending growth across other parts of the UK. | |
He said: "This is a good deal for Wales. | |
"It shows how this Labour government in Westminster is working together with the assembly in Cardiff Bay to deliver for the people of Wales." | |
The budget for Wales effectively doubled over the past eight years since the assembly was founded, but the finances will be tighter over the next three. | |
UK government revenues are under pressure and the economy's rate of growth is also predicted to slow down. | |
The result is that Mr Darling's spending review is less generous than those of Gordon Brown when he was chancellor. | |
It means the Labour-Plaid coalition in the assembly government will face tougher budget decisions than its predecessors. | |
If, for example, Cardiff Bay ministers wish to continue to make health and education top priorities, as the UK government is expected to do, other departments will have to tighten their belts that much more. | If, for example, Cardiff Bay ministers wish to continue to make health and education top priorities, as the UK government is expected to do, other departments will have to tighten their belts that much more. |
Ahead of Mr Darling's statement, Nick Bourne, leader of the Conservatives in the assembly, said he suspected the new assembly government would have "massive difficulty" fulfilling the promises it had made. | |
Education Minister Jane Hutt said the policies agreed by the Labour-Plaid Cymru administration were both "ambitious and radical" as well as "realistic and deliverable". |