From classrooms to hospitals: £294m investment in new Government’s priorities
Ysgolion ac ysbytai ymhlith y rhai sy'n derbyn buddsoddiad o £294m fel rhan o flaenoriaethau'r Llywodraeth newydd
- New funding for social housing, school buildings and community facilities confirmed today
- Budget brings together full package of investment for the year ahead
- Builds on NHS, childcare and free school meals announcements made last week
The Welsh Government today published its First Supplementary Budget, allocating £294m across its key priorities for the year ahead.
Today’s budget confirms new funding of £20m to boost the supply of social housing, £40m to improve school buildings and £5m for community facilities that people across Wales rely on. It also includes £10m to keep bus and coach travel affordable for young people and increase services, £2m for the Cynnal child payment and £2m to give more children the chance to learn to swim.
The Cabinet Minister for Finance, Elin Jones, said:
“This Government was elected with a clear mandate and is delivering on it responsibly and at pace. This supplementary budget demonstrates that commitment - spending with purpose, with every pound working harder for Wales.
“We have inherited significant pressures - in the NHS, in childcare, and across public services - and we are transparent about that.
“This Supplementary Budget concentrates resources on our clearest priorities: cutting NHS waiting times, expanding childcare, extending free school meals, and easing cost-of-living pressures for families.”
The budget builds on a series of announcements made last week. On 16 June, a £55m investment was confirmed to help hundreds more families access funded childcare for their two-year-olds.
On 18 June, the Government confirmed a £145m boost for the NHS to help patients be seen more quickly, including £25m for new surgical and diagnostic hubs to speed up cancer and diagnostic tests and £20m for long-overdue maintenance in hospitals and surgeries.
And on 22 June, £15m was announced so that more secondary school pupils from families on Universal Credit can receive free school meals, in time for the new term.
The Minister added:
“This is about more than new funding, it’s about beginning to reshape how our public services work after 27 years of a previous government.
“This new Government will ensure that every pound delivers better outcomes – better childcare, better healthcare and better public services for the people of Wales.”
The Budget is published today and will be debated and voted on 14 July.
Notes to editors
- Full breakdown of allocations:
- o £100m revenue - NHS waiting times and elective care
- o £25m capital - new surgical and diagnostic hubs
- o £20m capital - NHS maintenance
- o £45m revenue / £10m capital - childcare (12.5 hours for two-year-olds)
- o £5m revenue / £10m capital – extended free school meals
- o £40m capital - schools maintenance
- o £20m – new social housing
- o £8m - Young Person's bus fare
- o £2m - North–South coach travel
- o £2m - Cynnal child payment
- o £2m - School swimming
- o £5m - Community Facilities Programme
- Wrexham has joined Swansea, Merthyr Tydfil and Newport in expanding the offer to all 2-year-olds in their areas.
- The budget is published today and can be found here.
- An oral statement will be made in the Senedd today, scheduled for 16:15.