A Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee report into the Welsh Government annual accounts has found that the Welsh Labour Government lost more than £2 million on defunct technology and made an over £13 million “special payment” to settle claims over road contracts.
Welsh Conservatives have reiterated calls for an Anti-Waste Action Plan to reign in the Welsh Government’s wasteful spending.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Sam Rowlands MS said:
“These revelations are scandalous.
“It is clear that the Welsh Labour Government is wasting taxpayers’ money left, right and centre. From defunct green schemes to substantial settlement payments, Labour can’t be trusted with your money.
“The Welsh Conservatives would treat taxpayers’ money with respect and end wasteful spending, by enacting an Anti-Waste Action Plan.”
ENDS
Notes to editors: A link to the Finance Committee report can be found attached, with findings which included:
- The Welsh Government reporting a special payment of £13.1 million (excluding VAT) to reach contractual settlement agreements for Strategic Road Network (SRN) projects, issues with which arose due to inflationary pressures which impacted the availability and affordability of building materials.
- In response, Andrew Goodall, the Welsh Government’s permanent secretary said: “Not settling all claims would have left the Welsh Government open to the risk of unsettled claims being leveraged by the contractor at a later date.
Though he added: “Whilst there’s no guarantee the contractor would have commenced formal dispute proceedings for amounts they considered were due, it was deemed that there was a real chance of them doing so.”
- The accounts also revealed a £2.27 million loss to the public purse from spending on “defunct” equipment for a green social housing scheme.
- Ministers spent £4.75 million buying a factory in Ebbw Vale in 2021, £7.6 million on refurbishment, £2 million on a five-year loan for TVR and £500,000 on shares – only for the venture to fall through.
