Welsh Budget: Health to get £400m boost

Health care in Wales is being offered millions of pounds more next year to tackle record waiting times.

The Welsh Government says there will be an extra £1.5bn to spend on public services in its £26bn budget for next April.

All departments will see increases – with Transport having the largest percentage increase partly to pay for the Heads of Valleys Road upgrade.

Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford said the Budget was a “real opportunity” to “reinvigorate our public services”. But Plaid Cymru said the plans were “weak” and “uncivilized”.

Most of the extra money is going to the NHS, with a 4% increase in its budget and an extra £437m for day-to-day spending and a further £175m for buildings and other infrastructure.

This is in contrast to the previous budget which saw cuts in every department except health and transport.

Drakeford, the former prime minister, added: “This is a good budget for Wales. But it will take time to undo the damage done to Wales by 14 years of neglect by the previous UK administration. “

Most of the funding comes from the UK Government, which has given the Welsh Government a Cash promotion When Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced her budget in October.

But it is unclear how much of the money it will swallow from the higher National Insurance payments for employers it introduces.

Welsh authorities expect the extra funding to cover costs for public sector employers, but not for private companies that provide a range of services, including businesses that run care homes.

Income tax rates in Wales are unchanged, meaning they will remain the same as in England.

Land transaction tax rates paid by people buying houses will also remain the same, unless they already own one or more properties. They pay a higher rate that increases by 1% point.

Despite a strong increase in funding this year, the Budget confirms that the outlook for public finances beyond “(2026) looks challenging”.

Financial experts at Cardiff University have warned that this could mean tougher decisions for the public service after next year.

The Welsh Government’s headline figures say:

• The NHS will receive an extra £474m for day-to-day spending (an extra 4%), and around £175m for extra infrastructure, known as capital.
• Housing and local government will receive an additional £279.9m (5.4%) and a further £120m.
• Transport will receive an extra £69.6m (12%) and an extra £51m in capital funding.
• Education (excluding schools, which are paid for by councils) will receive £83.6m (4.9%), and £28m more in capital funding (8.1%).
• Climate change and rural affairs will receive an additional £36.35m (6.6%) and £71.95m in additional funding (31%).
• Social Justice will receive an additional £6.8m for revenue outcomes (4.7%) and £3m for capital funding.

Councils will receive an extra £235m – up 4.3% – while an extra £20m is being spent on the Welsh Government’s childcare offer.

The transport boost includes annual charges that the Welsh Government must pay for the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road.

The scheme is privately funded and will pay a service charge to the Welsh Government once it is completed. In 2020 it was reported that it would cost £38m a year..

Arts and culture bodies and sports clubs saw a 10 percent decline this year. They will get a £4.5m increase, but not the previous cut.

The Welsh Government will need an opposition politician to help pass its plans in the Seanad, with a final vote due in March 2025.

A Plaid Cymru politician appeared to rule out any deal on the budget on Tuesday morning.

The party’s finance spokeswoman, Held Feichen, asked on Radio Wales Breakfast if she was open to a budget deal, said “No. We want fair funding for Wales.”

“Labour’s budget is too small, inconsistent, and woefully short of what is needed to support Wales’ struggling public services,” he said.

He said funding for local government was “a drop in the ocean compared to what is needed to meet the growing challenges councils face”.

In an interview with Radio Cymru, Jane Dodds, the only Welsh Liberal Democrat in the Seanad, did not rule out her involvement.

“It’s important that we get the budget and that we get the full amount,” he said. “I’m ready to talk to them but I don’t know what will happen right now.”