The claim "Funding is owed from High Speed 2" asserts that Wales has an entitlement to funding from the HS2 project that it has not received. The evidence paints a nuanced picture: **What is factually established:** - HS2 is classified by the UK Treasury as an "England and Wales" project, giving Wales a 0% comparability factor in the Barnett formula for HS2 spending. This means Wales receives no direct Barnett consequentials from HS2 expenditure. - Scotland and Northern Ireland, where rail infrastructure is devolved, do receive 100% Barnett consequentials from HS2 spending. - The Welsh Government (under Mark Drakeford as Cabinet Secretary for Finance) estimated in February 2025 that Wales would have received an additional £431m between 2016-17 and 2025-26 had HS2 been classified as comparable. Wales Fiscal Analysis estimated the total loss would reach £845m by 2029-30. - No HS2 track is physically laid in Wales. - The House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee (2021) formally recommended that HS2 "should be reclassified as an England only project" and that Wales should receive Barnett consequentials, noting UK Government analysis showed HS2 would produce an "economic disbenefit" for Wales. **What is disputed:** - The UK Government (both the previous Conservative and current Labour administrations) has rejected this recommendation. Its position, confirmed as recently as June 2025 by Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones in a written answer, is that "the UK Government is responsible for heavy rail infrastructure across England and Wales so spends money on this in Wales rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so. There is therefore no direct link between HS2 and the Welsh Government's capital budgets." - Lord Hendy, UK Minister of State for Rail, told the Senedd's infrastructure committee in October 2025 that the current classification is correct and that "none are proposed" regarding changes to the Barnett formula. He confirmed Wales would not receive a multi-billion-pound windfall from HS2. - The current UK Government has instead committed £445m for rail enhancements in Wales over 10 years as an alternative to Barnett consequentials. **Assessment:** The factual underpinning of the claim — that Wales receives no Barnett consequentials from HS2 while Scotland and Northern Ireland do, and that this is widely seen as unfair — is well-supported, including by a cross-party parliamentary committee. However, the assertion that funding is "owed" presents a contested political and constitutional argument as established fact. The UK Government, which controls the classification, explicitly disputes that any funding is owed, maintaining that because heavy rail in England and Wales is reserved, the current arrangement is correct. The word "owed" implies an established legal or constitutional entitlement that has not been formally recognized by the authority that determines such classifications. While the argument has significant cross-party and institutional support in Wales (including from the Welsh Affairs Committee and the Welsh Government's former top legal advisor), it remains a matter of ongoing dispute rather than settled fact. Sources: Welsh Affairs Select Committee report "Railway Infrastructure in Wales" (https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmwelaf/438/43807.htm); House of Commons Library briefing "Transport funding for Wales and HS2" (https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2021-0168/); Mark Drakeford letter on HS2 funding, Senedd (https://business.senedd.wales/documents/s158049/Letter%20from%20the%20Cabinet%20Secretary%20for%20Finance%20and%20Welsh%20Language%20HS2%20Funding%20-%204%20February%202025.pdf); BBC News "Why does Wales not receive money from HS2?" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgmymnw2yxko); Senedd Research "What does the UK Government's 2025 Spending Review mean for Wales?" (https://research.senedd.wales/research-articles/what-does-the-uk-government-s-2025-spending-review-mean-for-wales/); TheyWorkForYou – Hansard Written Answer, 23 June 2025 (https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2025-06-18.61109.h); Nation.cymru "UK minister derails hopes of Wales receiving £4.6bn 'owed' from HS2" (https://nation.cymru/news/uk-minister-derails-hopes-of-wales-receiving-4-6bn-owed-from-hs2/); Senedd Research "Rail infrastructure spending in Wales" (https://research.senedd.wales/research-articles/rail-infrastructure-spending-in-wales-a-fair-deal-or-short-changed/)