Labour AMs who have been demanding all sorts of concessions from the UK Coalition government as part of the ‘respect’ agenda have gone missing in action in response to the decision by the Treasury to allow the Welsh Government to access around £200m of so-called “end year flexibility” (EYF) cash.
The BBC say that The Treasury has announced it will give Welsh ministers access to money not spent in previous years. Wales’ Finance Minister Jane Hutt had been pressing for the money to be made available and has now got her way. This decision should help the Welsh Government to find £163m in savings this year, although it still has the option to defer the cuts until next year.
Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan said: “Following the review it is clear that we have to tighten access to EYF but, in keeping with the respect agenda, the Welsh Assembly Government will be able to access specific EYF stocks this year.
“This means that despite the huge budget challenges we face, we have been able to provide the Welsh Assembly Government with access to around £200m of EYF money this year.
“I know this will be of considerable benefit to public services in Wales.”
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