Logistics was entirely missed out of the £27.5bn Welsh budget published this week, a decision that overlooks the significance of the sector to the country’s economy, according to freight groups.
Key allocations included £112.8m in additional funding for local government; £180m for the health and social care budget and £116m of support for businesses to help with the impact of the non-domestic rates revaluation.
Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford said all departments had been protected with at least the same funding in real terms as this year, but Logistics UK demanded the Senedd published its long-awaited freight and logistics strategy and said the sector had been omitted from the budget.
“No explicit provision for freight and logistics in the final Welsh budget fails to recognise one of the country’s largest and most critical economic sectors, and risks inhibiting investment by creating uncertainty in the industry that moves all the goods Wales relies on, every day,” said Josh Fenton, policy manager at Logistics UK.
“Thousands of businesses and more than 90,000 people – 6.7% of the Welsh workforce – are employed in logistics roles, and the sector contributes £3.3bn to the Welsh economy.
“Previously, the Welsh government has made several commitments to produce a Welsh freight and logistics strategy, but nothing has been forthcoming: the document needs to be published as a matter of urgency so it can be delivered before the Senedd elections.”
The RHA said the government had squandered an opportunity to invest in the country’s roads: “Despite key routes across Wales requiring urgent improvement to better connect communities, no funding has been pledged for road infrastructure,” said MD Richard Smith.
“Wales has suffered for too long from poor connectivity, placing it at a perpetual disadvantage compared with other UK economies.
“Bottlenecks on the M4 and A55 continue to increase journey times, making the movement of people and goods to and from Wales more costly than it should be.”
Smith added: “However, we welcome the £5 million investment in 100,000 apprenticeships and look forward to working with the Welsh government to ensure our sector will directly benefit.”
The final budget debate and vote will take place in the Senedd on 27 January.
