Anger as major Liverpool – Hull rail link designated as ‘England and Wales’ project

Emily Price 

A row has broken out over a multi-billion-pound rail link between Liverpool and Hull which has been designated as an “England and Wales” project by the UK Government.

Northern Powerhouse Rail, sometimes referred to unofficially as High Speed 3, is designed to enhance connections between major cities in the north of England, such as Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Hull.

Despite not a single centimetre of the railway line’s track passing into Wales it has been designated as an England and Wales project by the Labour government in Westminister.

The Liberal Democrats say this classification will see Wales miss out on between £1.34 billion – £1.59 billion in consequential funding, while Scotland is set to receive £2.7 billion and Northern Ireland will receive just under £1 billion from the project.

The UK Government says the Lib Dems claims are “untrue”.

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “This classification does not change the funding Wales gets. We’re directly investing £445 million to modernise Welsh rail and deliver new stations, faster journeys, and better connections across North and South Wales, including £77.8 million for major upgrades at Cardiff Central.”

The new scandal follows the UK Government’s controversial handling of HS2 funding, where the £100 billion high-speed rail link was classified as an “England and Wales” scheme despite none of the track crossing the Welsh border.

This classification meant no consequential cash was released to Wales by the Treasury using the barnett formula.

This is usually determined based on whether the UK Government increases or decreases funding for departments that cover devolved areas.

In contrast, Scotland and Northern Ireland both received full funding uplifts.

The cash amount thought to be owed to Wales from HS2 was previously calculated by the Senedd’s Finance Committee and academics at Cardiff University at around £4bn.

Welsh ministers have since revised that figure down to around £350m.

Earlier this year it was revealed that the UK Government had classed the multi-billion pound Oxford and Cambridge rail line as an “England and Wales” scheme.

Billions

The Lib Dems say that Wales missed out on between £306 million and £363 million due to the designation of the project and that if the losses of all three English rail projects were combined, Wales would be owed around £6 billion in transport funding.

Earlier this year the UK Government announced it would invest £445 million in Welsh rail infrastructure across a ten year period.

The funding settlement was branded an “absolute joke” by opposition parties in Wales and Westminister.

Calls have been made for the UK Government to devolve heavy rail to Wales, as it is in Scotland or Northern Ireland, to put an end to unfair funding scandals.

Questions

Questions have also been raised about why the UK Government doesn’t simply classify the projects as “England only” to trigger consequential funding for Wales.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick said: “This Labour Government is deliberately depriving Welsh communities of billions of pounds in transport funding, whilst expecting a pat on the back for delivering crumbs.

“Labour has the power to change the system and stop these funding scandals, but has made its position clear, they are happy for Wales to be left behind, paying for megaprojects in England whilst our own rail and transport infrastructure collapses.

“The Welsh Liberal Democrats will continue to fight for fair transport funding that delivers for our communities and businesses.”

The Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd have also slammed the UK Government over its classification of Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Fair share

Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure, Sam Rowlands said: “The Welsh Conservatives have consistently called for Wales to be awarded its fair share of consequentials from HS2.

“By classifying the Northern Powerhouse Rail project as England and Wales, Labour has ensured that Wales misses out once again.

“The previous Conservative Government not only provided half the funding for the South Wales Metro and delivered a larger rail funding settlement than the current UK Labour Government, who have since slashed rail investment in half, but also committed £1 billion to electrify the North Wales Main Line, a project Labour scrapped when they came into office.”

Plaid Cymru Treasury spokesperson, Ben Lake MP says the way Wales is funded is “fundamentally broken”.

He said: “Plaid Cymru called on the Conservatives not to create another scandal when Northern Powerhouse Rail was first announced, and we’ve repeatedly urged Labour to fix it. Instead, Labour has chosen to continue with an arrangement that sees Wales losing out yet again.

“Westminster governments of all colours have hidden behind the ‘England-and-Wales’ label to deny Wales its fair share from rail projects that don’t include a single centimetre of track in Wales.

“If we’re serious about ending these scandals, heavy rail must be devolved to Wales so that England-only projects are treated appropriately and funding allocated fairly to projects in Wales.

“Welsh communities deserve investment, and our infrastructure is in desperate need of funding.”

The Welsh Government says it has continually been underfunded on rail investment.

A spokesperson said: “Despite securing nearly £6bn extra funding in our settlement from the UK Government this year, we have been clear that Wales has been underfunded in rail infrastructure investment.

“This historic underfunding has now been recognised by the UK Government and we will continue to work with them on ambitious projects to deliver further rail improvements across Wales.”