Political situation

Wales

Elections for the National Assembly for Wales take place every five years. The last election was held on 5 May 2016. Following this election, the Labour Party remained the dominant group in the National Assembly. The number of seats currently held in the National Assembly are as follows:

For further information, see this June 2016 House of Commons Library briefing.

United Kingdom

For information regarding the political situation in the UK, see the parallel article for England.

Economic situation

Fiscal forecasts and budgets

Responsibility for fiscal policy, macro-economic policy and public expenditure allocation for the United Kingdom of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (UK) lies with HM Treasury. UK forecasts and budgets are therefore also relevant in Wales.

UK Budget

For information regarding the UK budget, see the parallel article for England.

Welsh Government budget

The Welsh Government’s revenue budget for the period 2016/17 to 2019/20, and capital budget until 2020/21, were settled under the UK Government’s Spending Review in 2015. The October 2018 UK budget announced an increase of £550 million (€617.98 million*) through to 2020/21 for the Welsh Government, before adjustments for tax devolution. This budget is for spending in devolved areas including education, health and transport. The devolved administration in Wales decide where this funding is spent.

*Exchange rate used: €1 = £0.89, ECB, 17 January 2019.

GDP expenditure on education

UK

For information on GDP expenditure on education for the UK as a whole, see the parallel article for England.

Wales

In April 2016, the Wales Governance Centre, a research centre at Cardiff University, published a report, Government Expenditure and Revenue Wales 2016. This is an inaugural report aiming to provide a comprehensive multi-year analysis of Wales’ public sector spending, public sector revenues and the nation’s overall net fiscal balance. The report finds (page 5) that Wales’ total expenditure in 2014/15 was equivalent to 61.8% of its estimated GDP, with 10.8% of that being spent on education.

Educational attainment levels of the adult population

Percentage of working age adults in Wales with:

Source: Welsh Government, Key Education Statistics (2005, 2007 and 2019 editions)

Article last reviewed April 2021.