The UK Government's transport minister has defended the decision to award £50m to help pay for a new train line in Cardiff but not to give Wales a share of the money being spent in England on High Speed 2 (HS2).
Mark Harper was in Cardiff on Thursday to speak about the second round of projects awarded funds in Wales through the UK Government's Levelling Up Funding. In total, 11 projects in Wales are receiving £208m including £50m to pay for the start of the crossrail project in Cardiff.
Mr Harper MP defended the scheme as a "really important" investment and said it was not fair to see it is a much smaller sum than the £72bn to £98bn being spent on HS2 in England, which Wales is not receiving any consequential spending from - something that WalesOnline has been questioning for years. It's estimated Wales' population-based share of HS2 spending over the next two decades would be around £5bn.
