North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has welcomed today’s budget by the Chancellor of the Exchequer which includes measures which will benefit people across North Wales.
The Chancellor has set out plans to increase the Welsh Government’s budget by £1.2 billion, funding that can deliver real change for the people of Wales, and also announced that the UK Government will start formal discussions on a project by project basis for the North Wales Growth Deal.
Mr Isherwood said: “This budget really delivers for the people of North Wales.
“From April 2018, the National Living Wage will be increased by 4.4% from £7.50 to £7.83 delivering a £600 annual pay-rise to a full-time worker in North Wales. The National Living Wage uprating in 2017 is estimated to have benefited around 85,000 people in Wales.
“Meanwhile, the personal allowance – the amount you can earn before you start paying income tax - will rise from £11,500 to £11,850 in April 2018, and the higher rate income threshold will rise to £46,350.
In 2018-19, increases the government has made to the personal allowance and higher rate threshold will have lifted 61,000 people in Wales out of income tax altogether and benefit over 1.4 million people in Wales who will have gained by an average of £183, compared to 2015-16.
“The Chancellor has also outlined future work to develop proposals for potential rail schemes right across the Wales network. This includes improving journey times on the North Wales Main Line.
The UK Government will also consider proposals to improve journey times on the Wrexham to Bidston line and provide the necessary funding to develop this proposal – ensuring cross border connectivity and improved journey times for passengers.
“It will also provide cross-border opportunities. Cities and towns on the English-Welsh border operate as an integrated economy and North Wales will benefit from investment and further devolution deals in Liverpool and the West Midlands – around 4,500 people commute from Wales to Liverpool and there are nearly 15,000 private businesses in the Welsh counties closest to Liverpool (Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham).
“People in North Wales will benefit from the freeze on Fuel Duty, for the eighth year running, which will save the average driver in North Wales nearly £9 every time they fill up their car.
“The Government will also introduce a 26-30 railcard which will be valid in Wales and provide similar benefits to those offered by the 16-25 railcard.”
Mr Isherwood also welcomed the fact that Charities across Wales will benefit with more than £662,000 of LIBOR funding raised from fines levied on banks being distributed to good causes.
He said:
“The fact that our charities will benefit is great news. The additional funding will help good causes including: Care and Repair North East Wales Limited: to support training and work opportunities for Veterans in North East Wales (£292,482); RAF Valley: to support the ‘Hawking’s Recreation Play park’ project, providing community cohesion at RAF Valley in Wales (£80,000); British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association: To support limbless Veterans across Wales and the Border counties (£205,694) and the Welsh Air Ambulance Charitable Trust: to provide mental health awareness, resilience and Trauma Risk Management training to Air Ambulance personnel in Wales (£84,000).”
He added: “The Welsh Government must now get on with the job of using the levers at its disposal to improve the lives of the people of Wales by growing the economy, attracting investment, building the homes our nation needs, building the road network Wales deserves and making real progress in improving standards across our public services.”