Wales is facing a "new era of austerity" according to the Welsh Government following an announcement by new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
In attempt to calm the markets with "confidence and stability", Mr Hunt confirmed he is ditching many of the measures in the mini-budget meaning the UK Government will no longer be proceeding with the cuts to dividend tax rates, the reversal of off-payroll working reforms introduced in 2017 and 2021, the new VAT-free shopping scheme for non-UK visitors or the freeze on alcohol duty rates.
Following the announcements Wales' minister for finance (the Welsh equivalent of the Chancellor of the Exchequer) Rebecca Evans MS said: "The Chancellor’s statement today has signalled a new era of austerity. Those hit hardest will be the households already struggling to make ends meet. Our public services are facing cuts, and jobs could be lost. The actions announced by the Chancellor will shrink the economy and make the recession deeper and last longer – the opposite of the so-called plan for growth."
Read more: How Jeremy Hunt's tax and energy announcements will affect you
She continued: "While the Chancellor stated the UK Government’s priority in making the difficult decisions that lie ahead will always be the most vulnerable, he offered nothing of comfort to them today. The announcement of changes to energy support only creates additional uncertainty for households and businesses which are already worrying about costs.
"The UK Government has repeatedly failed to take opportunities to improve our energy security for the future and address the climate emergency. It must be more ambitious on investment in green energy and decarbonisation. The Chancellor must use his October 31 statement to provide reassurance that we will not see spending cuts that will affect public services, jobs, and our economy. Instead, he has a real opportunity to provide much-needed support to the most vulnerable, funded by using the UK Government’s tax levers more equitably, including taxing the windfall gains in the energy sector."
Just a matter of weeks ago business secretary Vaughan Gething warned that Wales had serious shortfalls in its budget due to inflation. Leader of Plaid Cymru Adam Prince has called on the Welsh Government to raise income taxes in Wales to make up the shortfall. You can see how much money this could raise here.
Ms Evans added: "Inflation has already significantly eroded the Welsh Government’s budget settlement to worryingly low levels. This Statement continues to fall far short of what is needed to meet the very significant challenges faced by our public services and workers. The UK Government must provide us with the additional budget flexibilities to support our response in Wales.
"While we will not be able to protect people and services from the full force of the UK Government’s actions, we will do everything we can to help households, services and businesses through this crisis.
"We will publish the Welsh Government’s Budget on December 13 and provide a considered and careful response to the crisis taking into account the full fiscal forecast provided by the Office for Budget Responsibility to provide as much certainty as possible for our public services and partners."
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