At First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) today, the Leader of the Welsh Conservatives challenged the First Minister to address the £72 million shortfall from the UK Labour Government with regard to the cost of the Chancellor’s NI rise for Welsh public sector employers.

Labour Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Mark Drakeford said in the Senedd that

"The Treasury has said today [05/11/2024] that there will be additional funding for public sector workers to cover the costs of employer national insurance contributions… it will provide full funding to deal with the national insurance contributions of employers in those circumstances.”

"The Welsh Conservatives have called on Rachel Reeves to reverse the Jobs Tax, unlike the First Minister."

Commenting, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Darren Millar MS said:

“It’s abundantly clear that Labour has no idea and no plan on how to mitigate the devastating effects of the Jobs Tax here in Wales. They said that there would be ‘full funding’, but there is a significant shortfall and not just this year, but every year going forward too.

“Labour’s Jobs Tax doesn’t just hit businesses and the taxpayer via public sector costs, these National Insurance changes also hit public sector contractors, like bin collections, social care, and end of life care through hospices.

“The First Minister should apologise to the people of Wales for backing the jobs tax, and for the hefty bill that Welsh taxpayers will now have to foot as a result of her failure to deliver the funding that Wales needs."

Watch Darren’s contribution in the Welsh Parliament below: