'Incomplete and unclear' details about £58m international spending by the Welsh Government

Politicians say they have "serious concerns" about the Welsh Government's £58m set aside for international spending. Since 2021, the Welsh Government has budgeted £58m for international relations, but when questions were asked about how it was spent, the answers were "incomplete and unclear, with irreconcilable amounts" and means the budget could not been scrutinised "with confidence".

International relations is not a devolved issue and is handled by the UK Government, not the Welsh Government, but there are limited roles the Welsh Government can play on the international stage including non-binding international agreements in devolved areas and the Welsh Government has agreements with countries, regions and cities.

There is a cross-party scrutiny committee of Senedd members to look at international relations.

That committee has raised what it calls "serious concerns" about the Welsh Government’s budget allocations for international activity throughout this Senedd term, which started in 2021 and will end in March.

The committee says it has repeatedly called for accuracy and improved transparency on intended outputs, outcomes, impact, and value for money, and has expressed its disappointment that all three of the last First Ministers have declined to appear for scrutiny.

While international relations has previously been a cabinet role of its own, it now falls as part of Eluned Morgan's First Minister role and she is singled out for criticism.

The Welsh Government has 20 overseas offices in 11 countries and there are 43 staff employed in those, with £4.7m allocated to the annual running costs of those offices. They are in Belgium, Canada, China, Ireland, France, Germany, India, Japan, Qatar, UAE and the USA.

The committee, having requested them, gets Welsh Government monthly lists of overseas ministerial visits and incoming diplomatic visits to Wales but costs are not included.

The report concludes "provision of financial information to the Senedd and the public must improve".

"Serious consideration must be given to better utilising the resources available to government," it also says.

A Welsh Government website lists nine agreements but the report says some are missing. "The committee has not succeeded in obtaining a complete list of the Welsh Government’s international agreements, despite multiple requests," the committee writes in its report. They say they asked to be formally notified about any new arrangements, but say that has not happened.

The committee says it holds the view "that the [fact] Welsh Government cannot provide a list of its current international agreements is baffling and a symptom of a lack of strategic oversight and implementation. We have not been notified of new or renewed agreements, despite multiple requests, although we acknowledge that a recent commitment from the First Minister resulted in notification of agreements with Catalonia and the Basque Country".

It says that there have been numerous "promotional years" such as Germany in 2021, Canada in 2022, France in 2023, India in 2024, and Japan in 2025 but while Vaughan Gething, the former First Minister, had said there had been evaluation of these schemes, "these are not published nor shared with the committee".

There are further concerns about what information is published or even obtained by politicians to scrutinise.

"We are concerned about the Welsh Government’s communications and accountability around this area of work. Gaps in reporting and low awareness were illustrated time and again in examples shared by witnesses. The availability of information about delivery of its international relations strategies is too often inexplicably, and frustratingly, poor.

"This is reflected in the evidence we received. It also corresponds to our experience as a committee. Since 2021, our work has been dominated by establishing a basic understanding of arrangements, activity and delivery.

"Efforts to obtain information have been disproportionate, often times requiring multiple exchanges of correspondence because our questions have not been answered. This has hindered scrutiny and expended precious resource."

The report says that while First Ministers have appeared for annual scrutiny sessions, Mrs Morgan has not attended plenary debates on international relations reports, but other cabinet members have stepped in. The report also says Mrs Morgan recently declined to appear for Wales-Ireland relations sessions. 

In its findings, the committee say: "That the First Minister has declined invitations to attend committee in person outside an annual session is highly unsatisfactory and contrasts starkly with the approach taken by other Cabinet Secretaries to scrutiny of international matters in their portfolios.

"As a matter of principle, if a First Minister chooses to take on policy responsibilities, they should make themselves available to be held to account for those responsibilities. If a First Minister is unable to do so due to competing demands on their time, they should consider delegating those responsibilities to another minister."

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Wales has a strong and growing international presence, built on our values, our global partnerships and our commitment to promoting Wales on the world stage.

"In the last year alone, we hosted the first ever Wales Investment Summit and secured over £16bn worth of inward investment, and we’re looking forward to welcoming major events such as the Tour de France and Euro 2028.

"Through our international offices and a wide range of programmes, we continue to attract investment, support Welsh businesses to export and promote our culture, language and talent internationally."