Welsh Budget: NHS and frontline council services budgets protected

The NHS and frontline council-run services have been described as "at the heart" of this years Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25.

But finance minister Rebecca Evans still warns that the following year is going to be difficult.

The NHS will receive £450 million in additional funding, now making up more than half of the Welsh government's budget, and core local government funding will increase by 3.1%.

It's hoped this additional funding for local services will help to protect schools, social services and social care, bin collections and local leisure facilities

Every governmental department apart from Health will have less money to spend when adjusted for inflation. Climate-change funding and rural investment has been hit the hardest with the biggest cuts.

Pubs, shops and restaurants will also see their business rates go up.

There will also be a new £20 million Future Proofing Fund which will be introduced in early 2024 to help businesses.

The Welsh Government said ministers have faced the "most stark and painful" budget for Wales since devolution as funding was assigned.

We have had to take some really difficult decisions to radically redesign our spending plans to focus funding on the services which matter most to the people of Wales.

In a statement, Finance Minister Rebecca Evans said “After 13 years of austerity, a botched Brexit deal, and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, this is the toughest financial situation Wales has faced since the start of devolution. Our funding settlement, which comes largely from the UK Government, is not enough to reflect the extreme pressures Wales faces.

“We have been presented with the most stark and painful budget choices in the devolution era. We have reshaped departmental spending plans so that we can invest more in the NHS and protect core local government funding for schools, social care and the other services we rely on every day.

“While the UK Government has not provided Wales with a funding settlement that recognises the impact of inflation, we have made changes to our spending plans and targeted investment towards the public services we all value the most.”