Wales Budget News

Campaigners opposed to fracking are writing to First Minister Carwyn Jones and Prime Minister David Cameron to highlight their worries after the Chancellor signalled his support for the industry in yesterday's Budget.

It is thought there is a substantial amount of gas under parts of South Wales, and many local people are concerned about the controversial way it is extracted.

Those representing oil and gas operators have welcomed George Osborne's comments.

Hannah Thomas has been listening to both sides of the argument.

• Business
• Fracking
• Budget

The controversial fracking process involves fluid being forced down a hole in the ground, fracturing the rock and releasing gas.

• Business
• Fracking
• Budget

Anti-fracking campaigners in Wales say they'll write to First Minister Carwyn Jones and Prime Minister David Cameron to voice concerns after yesterday's Budget.

It follows Chancellor George Osborne's announcement that he wants to encourage the shale gas industry in the UK with a "generous" new tax regime.

'Frack-Free Wales' claims the process is unsafe, and is campaigning against exploratory drilling in Wales.

• Business
• Fracking
• Budget

The Welsh Local Government Association says the Budget means there are tough times ahead for local communities, with reduced public services and welfare cuts.

The outlook is bleak given that public spending on day to day activity will continue to reduce over the coming years. Reductions to the Welsh Block were already set out in the Chancellor's autumn statement. Local public services in a number of areas including education and early intervention, roads and transport, planning, and housing are proven activities that influence economic growth in a positive way.

Many people will face further reductions in living standards in the coming years. Changes to the welfare system will mean that some of the most vulnerable people in our communities are going to be left high and dry at a time when local public services will be squeezed as never before. This Budget is a missed opportunity but along with colleagues from across Wales, councils will step up to the plate and support growth and services in our local areas.

• Politics
• Local government
• Budget

Jane Hutt, the Welsh Government's Finance Minister, said "we're very constrained and disappointed by this Budget."

"There's no new real money for capital spending - there's cuts to our revenue budgets", she said.

• Politics
• Budget
• Economy

The Shadow Welsh Secretary, Owen Smith, has attacked the Chancellor both for his overall economic strategy and for the specific consequences for Wales of today's Budget.

The Chancellor could have introduced a package of measures to stimulate our economy: cuts to VAT and National Insurance, for example, and increased spending on house building and other infrastructural projects that would increase economic activity and boost tax receipts. And today’s Budget, in which the Chancellor said he was going to ‘level with’ Britain, acknowledges as much by adopting a version of Labour’s plan on National Insurance and by increasing the spending on infrastructure too.

But look at the fine print and what do you see: none of these things come in this year and most, like the elusive extra £3 billion on infrastructure, only due to appear in 2015 – when the Tories may well be out on their ear. And the same Osborne hallmarks of ‘jam tomorrow’ and sleight of hand are apparent in the treatment of the budget for of National Assembly.

David Jones announced that Wales would get an extra £161 million to spend on infrastructure – but we all remember that this is just putting back some of the £500 million cut in capital spending that was made in 2010 budget and even in the terms of this Budget it’s not quite as simple as the Welsh Secretary would have us believe, because a further £59m is cut out of the Welsh Government’s revenue funding, forcing hard decisions about cuts to services on which we all rely.

• Politics
• Owen Smith
• David Jones

Plaid Cymru Finance Spokesman Jonathan Edwards says the economic figures contained within the budget suggest a bleak future for Wales.

• Politics
• Plaid Cymru
• Jonathan Edwards

Wales Office minister Baroness Randerson tells Political Editor Adrian Masters that the budget was 'as good as we could possibly have hoped for' for Wales both in terms of the amount of money the Welsh Government gets to spend and in terms of other measures for families.

• Politics
• Budget
• Economy

Labour's Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith says the Chancellor's budget gives to Wales with one hand and takes away with the other.

• Politics
• Budget
• Economy