£157m funding announced by Welsh Government for First Minister's priorities

The Welsh Government has today announced £157m of new funding to support the First Minister’s priorities this year.

The additional funding includes £21m for diagnostic equipment for the NHS to help cut waiting times, which comes on top of a £50m package announced last month to cut the longest waits.

£20m will be provided for school and college repairs and maintenance through the Welsh Government’s school and college building programme, Sustainable Communities for Learning, which is in addition to £30m already provided this year.

There will be an extra £1m for arts and cultural organisations, provided through the Arts Council of Wales, which will support 60 organisations. This is in addition to £1.5m announced by the Welsh Government for the sector in September.

Other funding will support transport, housing and local government to create green jobs and growth. Further details of funding will be announced by the Welsh Government during this week.

First Minister Eluned Morgan, said: “After speaking to people across Wales, I set out my four priorities, which includes cutting the longest waiting times and speeding up access to NHS treatment.

"The funding for diagnostic equipment will give the NHS the tools to do just that, helping people get diagnosed and treated faster.

“We are delivering on what people want – funding our NHS and cutting the longest waiting times, creating jobs and working to improve education standards.

“I am determined we go further and work faster, and this extra funding will help us do just that in these priority areas.”

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