THE SENEDD has backed the Welsh Government’s “imperfect” £27bn draft budget following a late deal to prevent a “catastrophe” for public finances.

The 2026/27 spending plans passed with 24 in favour, 13 against and Plaid Cymru’s 13 members abstaining as part of a near-£300m deal with the Welsh Government. Ministers will unveil the final budget in the new year before a further crunch vote on January 27.

But scrutiny committees warned inflation based on “outdated” forecasts could see real-terms cuts, criticising a lack of preventative spending and “business as usual” funding for culture.

Leading scrutiny on December 16, Peredur Owen Griffiths, who chairs the Senedd’s finance committee, sounded the alarm about inflation figures underpinning the draft budget.

He warned that while health and councils would receive uplifts, these were based on forecasts from March that are already outdated.

Calling on ministers to publish an assessment of inflationary pressures alongside the final budget, he said: “Some areas face real-terms cuts unless funding increases.”

The Plaid Cymru politician also urged the Welsh Government to develop a plan to close a “persistent productivity gap” compared with the UK average.

Peter Fox, the Conservative chair of the health committee, said the NHS initially faced a “historically low” uplift of only 0.5% in real terms before the deal was struck.

Mr Fox made a compelling case for extra funding for “vital” palliative and end-of-life care services as well as more money for respite care for unpaid carers.

While welcoming an extra £180m for health and social care, he warned of a system buckling under pressures in relation to waiting times, staffing and an ageing estate.

“It’s essential to balance these short-term demands with longer-term transformation,” he said, calling for assurances funding for prevention is not lost to immediate firefighting.

This sentiment was echoed by Delyth Jewell, the Plaid Cymru chair of the culture committee, who lamented that the arts sector faces another year of “more of the same” real-terms cuts.

She pointed out that spending on culture in Wales ranks among the lowest in Europe.

Llŷr Gruffydd, chair of the climate change committee, raised concerns about infrastructure, pointing to the transport secretary’s admission that Wales has the UK’s oldest bus fleet.

Mr Gruffydd also criticised cuts to biodiversity, noting a 3.9% fall in day-to-day resource spending and an 8% reduction in longer-term capital funding amid a “nature emergency”.

Meanwhile, John Griffiths, who chairs the local government committee, welcomed a minimum 4% increase for councils but warned “frustrations continue” over the funding formula, which relies on data from the 1991 census.

He said: “We remain concerned that local authorities are still in a vulnerable position and continue to face the prospect of council tax rises, service cuts and job losses.”

His Labour colleague Buffy Williams, chair of the education committee, warned ministers failed to publish a specific children’s rights impact assessment for the 12th year in a row.

Heledd Fychan, Plaid Cymru’s shadow finance secretary, defended her party’s decision to abstain, arguing rejecting the budget could have led to thousands of job losses, council tax rises of 22% and the “very real prospect of bankruptcy for some of our councils”.

“This was a budget that, if it was left unamended, would have proved catastrophic for Wales,” she said, dismissing suggestions Plaid Cymru was “propping up” Labour.

But her Conservative counterpart Sam Rowlands criticised the budget as a failure that “does nothing” to get Wales’ economy moving nor get to grips with long NHS waiting lists.

Reform UK’s Laura Anne Jones added that the “cosy arrangement” between Labour and “their little helpers” Plaid Cymru “smacks of a government that has run out of ideas.”

Closing the debate, finance secretary Mark Drakeford insisted the budget deal was “good news for Welsh citizens” because the “catastrophe” of a failed budget has been avoided.

“We have secured that more ambitious set of outcomes,” he said, pointing to the £180m extra for health and social care as well as a £112m for councils as part of the deal.

MORE than 16,000 people were added to the electoral register during the UK’s first Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) pilots, according to results published this week by the Electoral Commission.

The pilots were carried out in Gwynedd, Newport and Powys, with a fourth, desk-based exercise taking place in Carmarthenshire. They were launched by the Welsh Government in 2024 under powers granted by the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024.

Under the scheme, local authorities used existing public records – including council tax and education data – to identify and add eligible voters to the electoral register without requiring them to submit an individual application.

Electoral reform programme

The pilots form part of a wider programme of electoral reform in Wales, which has already seen the introduction of votes at 16 for Senedd and local elections, alongside efforts to improve accessibility and participation.

The Electoral Commission said the pilots demonstrated that barriers to registration could be reduced using data already held by public bodies, and that large numbers of people who would otherwise remain unregistered could be enfranchised through automated processes.

Although four local authorities were involved overall, only three pilots resulted in people being directly added to the register. Carmarthenshire participated through a data-matching exercise rather than live registration.

Wider UK implications

The findings have significance beyond Wales. The UK Government has already signalled its intention to introduce automated voter registration across England and the rest of the UK as part of future electoral legislation.

The Electoral Commission estimates that more than eight million people across the UK are currently not registered to vote. Concerns have been raised in recent years that Britain has one of the most complex voter registration systems among established democracies.

Supporters of AVR argue that using trusted public datasets could significantly reduce under-registration, particularly among young people, renters and those who move frequently.

Calls for expansion

Jess Blair, Director of ERS Cymru, said the pilots showed automatic registration was both effective and scalable.

She said: “These Automatic Voter Registration pilots have added over 16,000 previously unregistered potential voters to the electoral register in just three local areas. It proves that AVR works and should be in place across Wales for future elections.

“It makes life easier and simpler for voters and could help reduce the barriers thousands of people across the country face in playing an active part in our democracy.”

Ms Blair said the results also highlighted the potential impact of a UK-wide scheme.

“The fact that over 16,000 people were added in just three areas using only local authority data means the potential for AVR at a UK level, using more comprehensive national datasets, is huge,” she said.

Timing concerns

Despite the positive results, automatic voter registration will not be in place for the next Senedd elections in May 2026.

ERS Cymru said it was disappointed by the timescale and urged the next Welsh Government to move quickly to ensure the system is operational for local elections in 2027.

With the UK Government expected to bring forward legislation on electoral reform, campaigners say the Welsh pilots provide a clear model for reducing registration barriers and increasing democratic participation nationwide.

BUSINESSES facing sharp hikes in tax bills after the 2026 revaluation will see increases phased in over two years after the Senedd backed a new transitional relief scheme.

Senedd Members unanimously approved regulations to help businesses which face significant rises in non-domestic rates bills after a revaluation taking effect in April 2026.

The Welsh Government estimates the transitional relief will support 25,000 ratepayers at a cost of £77m in 2026/27 and £39m in 2027/28. The partial relief covers 67% of the increase in the first year and 34% in the second.

Mark Drakeford, Wales’ finance secretary, stressed the £116m scheme comes on top of permanent rate reliefs which are currently worth £250m a year. He said ratepayers for two-thirds of properties will pay no bill at all or receive some level of relief.

The former First Minister told the Senedd: “In providing this transitional relief scheme, we are closely replicating the scheme of relief we provided following the 2023 revaluation – supporting all areas of the tax base in a consistent and straightforward manner.”

The Conservatives’ Sam Rowlands expressed his party’s support for the transitional relief scheme which will help ratepayers facing sharp increases after the 2026 revaluation.

He said: “We are grateful that the Welsh Government has at least brought forward a scheme that will soften the immediate impact for thousands of Welsh businesses.

“We also understand that if these regulations are not approved or supported… this relief scheme will not be in existence. Many businesses across Wales would face steep increases with no protection at all and that is certainly not an outcome we would want.”

But the shadow finance secretary warned businesses up and down Wales are worried about the increase in rates that they are liable to pay.

Advocating scrapping rates for all small businesses in Wales, Mr Rowlands said: “We’ve heard first-hand from many of those in the hospitality and leisure sector, some of whom are facing increases of over 100% in the tax rates they are expected to pay.”

Responding as the Senedd signed off on the scheme on December 16, Prof Drakeford said the Welsh Government had to wait for the UK budget to know if funding was available. As a result of the time constraints, the regulations were not subject to formal consultation.

Prof Drakeford agreed with Mr Rowlands that voting against the regulations would not improve support, only eliminate the transitional relief package before the Senedd.

Earlier in Tuesday’s Senedd proceedings, former Tory group leader Paul Davies warned Welsh businesses have already been hit with some of the highest business rates in the UK.

He said: “The latest business rates revaluation has meant that some businesses are now facing rises of several hundred per cent compared with previous assessments…

“Whilst I appreciate that a transitional relief scheme will help some businesses manage these changes, the reality is that for many businesses it’s not enough and some businesses will be forced into a position where they will have to close.”