GOVERNMENT FIDDLES WHILE BARNETT BURNS WALES- WILLIAMS

1.07.54pm GMT Tue 2nd Feb 2010

Roger Williams, the MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, has said that the Government's refusal to act on reform of the Barnett Formula treats Welsh people as Second Class Citizens.

Mr Williams was speaking after receiving a response to a letter sent to the Prime Minster late last year asking him once again to change the method of funding for the devolved regions of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The reply said that the Prime Minister had no plans to change the Formula, even though a report by the Holtham Commission last year warned that the current system will mean that over the next decade Wales will be under-funded by around £8.5 billion.

Under the Barnett Formula the amount of money available in Wales is calculated by the country's population as compared to England, rather than on the basis of need, even though Wales, with its larger rural areas, needs more money per person in order to provide similar quality services.

Commenting on the Government's response Roger Williams said:

"I am simply appalled at the Government's point-blank refusal to reform the funding system so that Wales gets its fair share. How can they possibly claim to be working for Welsh people while they consistently ignore expert advice on how the Barnett Formula is harming Wales?

"Instead of real reform the Government is content to tinker round the edges, assessing trends in spending rather than actually doing something by acting. With each year changes are delayed Wales is losing out on more and more vital investment that could go towards changing the lives of people up and down Wales.

"I want to see a fundamental overhaul of the Barnett Formula so that the Welsh Assembly Government has the money to provide services on an equal footing to England. The Government should stop treating Welsh people like second class citizens, stop fiddling and move forward with reform on this totally inadequate system."