THE governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have demanded urgent Budget talks as Boris Johnson and new Chancellor Rishi Sunak consider their next steps.
In a letter made public, Scotland’s Public Finance Minister Kate Forbes, Rebecca Evans of Wales and Conor Murphy of Northern Ireland say they need talks over “challenges created by the delay in the UK Budget”, including questions over the settlements they will receive
from Westminster.
Last week, Forbes revealed how the Treasury told Edinburgh officials to base Holyrood’s forthcoming Budget on the Conservative Party General Election manifesto.
That’s due to a lack of detail on the UK Government’s own plans due to the decision by former Chancellor Sajid Javid to push back his statement until March 11.
Javid’s shock resignation in a row with Number 10 over staff has added to the confusion, with UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps telling the Andrew Marr Show yesterday that it was unclear whether the Budget would “definitely go ahead on the same date as mentioned before”.
He said: “The guy’s only been in place for a few days, let’s give him a few days to decide on the date.”
As well as leaving devolved parliaments guessing, any further delay could prevent the Office for Budget Responsibility – which monitors the government’s performance on money management – from meeting its legal obligation of publishing two forecasts in the financial year. The National understands that Johnson and Sunak held weekend talks, but it’s not known whether or not any decision was made on a date change.
A Treasury source said: “We are working on the assumption it’s still going to be the same date.”
The meetings came as Forbes and her Welsh and Northern Ireland counterparts called on Stephen Barclay, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, to hold an all-UK summit ahead of March 11.
The letter makes direct reference to Sunak, telling Barclay of “constructive discussions with your predecessor”.
Sunak held Barclay’s job until his promotion on Thursday ended his seven-month stint in the role.
The ministers state: “It will
be important to discuss the challenges for public spending as a result of leaving the European Union and how we can work together to ensure as smooth a transition as possible to a UK funding framework which delivers for all parts of the United Kingdom and respects devolution.”
In a statement to The National last night, a spokesperson for the Treasury said: “The new Chief Secretary, Steve Barclay, will
look to continue constructive discussions and ensure this Budget unlocks potential right across the United Kingdom.”
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