First minister urges Burnham to be serious about Wales

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been urged to show he is serious about Wales' needs as he prepares to meet with the Welsh and Scottish first ministers.

The former Greater Manchester mayor is joining Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth and SNP leader John Swinney in Glasgow on Friday.

Before the meeting, ap Iorwerth said he assumed Burnham was holding something back after a UK government Budget that had "little mention" of Wales.

Burnham said he would be making an offer to each of the devolved governments at Friday's meeting.

Wednesday's Budget pledged an extra £450m for Wales over the next three years as well as funding for individual projects.

The Welsh government has criticised the chancellor's plans, claiming the extra money promised leaves it facing a real-terms cut to its own finances.

A £30m funding pledge for a new railway station in Cardiff has also been described as "an insult" by Wales' transport minister after the Welsh government called for £1bn to be spent on rail infrastructure in Wales.

Welsh ministers had called for changes to their borrowing rules and assurances that child poverty payments it wants to introduce would leave recipients' tax and benefits allowances unaffected.

None of that was addressed in the Budget, although Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock has said "positive" talks were ongoing regarding the child poverty payments.

Speaking to BBC Wales on the journey up to Glasgow, ap Iorwerth said he could "barely remember" a Budget with "so little mention of Wales".

"I can only assume that the prime minister is holding something back and I'm looking forward to hearing what he has to say [on Friday].

"I have no doubt that people will have been disappointed listening to the UK Budget this week.

"People will come to a judgement that is Wales not being treated fairly by a UK government.

"We have in Glasgow this week an opportunity for the UK government and the new prime minister to show that they are serious about listening to the needs of Wales."

Friday's meeting of the National Economic Council was due to be attended by the prime minister and all the devolved leaders.

However, it emerged on Thursday that the Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill would not be there after her attendance was blocked by the DUP.

Asked if he would raise Welsh independence in the meeting, ap Iorwerth said: "This is about creating a prosperous future for Wales.

"This is about dealing with the issues that we face right now as a government on fair funding, on the powers that we need to improve people's lives in Wales.

"Those are the issues that I will discuss with the UK government at this meeting this week."

Since he became prime minister, Burnham has consistently spoken in favour of devolution.

He has said he is "open" to transferring powers over policing and justice to Wales and, during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, he said he was "ready to make an offer" on the devolution of employment support.

Before Friday's meeting, Burnham said: "Today I'll be making an offer to the government of each nation.

"Put politics aside and work in partnership with the UK government to develop models of regional empowerment that ensure communities can use their own strengths to unlock their potential.

"This is the next stage of devolution. Together, there is no limit to what we can achieve."