26.03.14
Osborne weighs into Welsh electrification funding row
George Osborne has stated that a deal covering the funding of the Great Western Main Line out to Swansea has been in place with the Welsh Assembly since 2012.
The chancellor, while on a visit to Tata Steel's plant at Port Talbot, added that “there is a contribution from the Welsh government, that’s a feature of devolution and that was all set out in the 2012 deal”.
His comments come after Welsh first minster Carwyn Jones claimed that the UK government agreed it would fund the electrification of the London-Swansea main line and the Valleys lines.
This resulted in Welsh secretary David Jones stating that funding plans were laid out in correspondence between then-transport secretary Justine Greening and then-Welsh government minister for local government and communities Carl Sargeant.
Jones said: “It's quite clear what the Welsh government was going to be doing through the Wales and Borders franchise and what HMG (Her Majesty's Government) was doing. This was a deal, and a deal is a deal, and we expect them to adhere to the deal.”
Osborne told Wales Online: “I'm not really sure why the Welsh government is trying to raise this issue again. I think what people around here want is to just get on with it and deliver these improvements in infrastructure that frankly should have happened many years ago and it’s required this government to put that deal together.”
He added that rather than “trying to re-open on the deal” there should be a focus on “delivering the deal”.
(Image shows Osborne shaking hands with train driver Nigel Hunt during his visit to the Tata Steel factory in Port Talbot. Matthew Horwood/PA Wire)
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