Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to receive £3.7 billion to support coronavirus recovery
The UK government will give £3.7 billion additional funding to the devolved administrations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to support the coronavirus recovery.
It comes after £8.9 billion was confirmed in March to support businesses and the NHS in the three nations bringing the total in extra funding to £12.7 billion.
The funding will give the devolved administrations the “certainty and flexibility to plan for the months ahead”, the government said in a statement.
The announcement follows the Prime Minister's visit to Orkney where he met local businesses to "reaffirm his commitment" to supporting all parts of the British Isles.
The funds will mean a total increase of:
at least £6.5 billion for Scotland
£4 billion for Wales
£2.2 billion for Northern Ireland
It is a 25% increase in funding for the three nations on top of their income set out at the Spring Budget.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Steve Barclay MP said: “At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, we said we would do everything we could to support the whole of the UK – whether that’s saving jobs or ensuring our vital NHS has the equipment it needs. And that is exactly what we have done.
"This is yet another sign of our support for the Union and commitment to securing an economic recovery for the whole of the United Kingdom.”
Some 1.7 million jobs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been protected with government support packages including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, the government said.
Other support packages were announced this month by Chancellor Rishi Sunak including the Job Retention Bonus, the Kickstart Scheme and Eat Out to Help Out.
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In response to the announcement, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: "The pressures facing our budget are unrivalled in the post Second World War era, and while we welcome confirmation of Wales’ share of spend in England, it is not clear how much of this package is wholly new. We fully expected to receive funding on major PPE costs and NHS winter funding.
They continued: "We look forward to receiving the full detail on new funding and hope that the UK Treasury will finally lift the restrictions on our ability to access our own savings to address urgent pressures."