The Welsh NHS is set to get an extra £570m in funding over the next three years, after the Welsh government agreed revealed its draft budget.
The extra funds include £150m for this financial year, but there have been cuts in other areas.
Spending on the NHS in Wales will rise from £5.722bn to £5.927bn next year, an increase of 3.58% in cash terms or 1.68% in real terms.
Local government spending will fall from £4.648bn this year to £4.466bn next year – a cut in real terms by 5.81% with council budgets will be around 9% lower in real terms between now and 2015/16.
Other cuts sees £77.5m lost from Education and Skills, £26.9m from Economy, Science and Transport and Natural Resources and Food loses £22.2m.
Another £15m worth of cuts are coming from Housing and Regeneration, Culture and Sport and Central administration.
Finance Minister Jane Hutt has blamed the cuts on the UK Government and said the overall Welsh budget will decrease by £1.7bn by 2015/16.
She said: “This is a fair and responsible budget which delivers our priorities for Wales, sticking to our principles and standing up for Wales.
“Since 2010, the Welsh budget has faced unprecedented cuts by the UK Government. We cannot shield all services from the effect of the UK Government cuts and the implications of prioritising spend. All of the decisions that we face are difficult. There are no easy answers. The challenges facing our priority public services are evolving. Rising demand levels, cost increases and pressures resulting directly from the UK Government’s Welfare Reforms are biting.
“In this budget we have been clear about our priorities for Wales and those areas that we believe need protecting – health, schools and universal benefits.
“We have also been clear that our focus will continue to rest on creating Growth and Jobs for the Welsh economy. Our commitment to tackle poverty by raising educational attainment and supporting children, families and deprived communities, will also help to achieve a fairer, healthier Wales.
“We are a responsible, determined and effective Government, governing in difficult times. The Draft Budget proposals I have announced today are based on experience, knowledge and a real understanding of the needs of people across Wales.”
Labour, which does not have a majority in the National Assembly, has had to do a deal with Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats to help it pass the budget
Under the deal, £100m will be spent on Plaid and Lib Dem initiatives. In return, the two parties will abstain in December’s vote to pass the budget.
The money includes £50m to treat more NHS patients in the community rather than hospital and the doubling of funding for the pupil deprivation grant – a scheme to help poorer school pupils.
From 2014 schools will receive £918 per pupil on free school meals. For Caerphilly County Borough this equates to more than £5m.
Lib Dem leader Kirsty Williams said: “The Welsh Liberal Democrats created this grant because we want to give every child a fairer start in life. Too often children from poorer backgrounds fall behind in school even at an early age. We want to put an end to this inequality. In doing so, we will be raising standards in our schools for all pupils across Wales.
“Helping poorer pupils was a key pledge in the Welsh Liberal Democrat’s 2011 manifesto. We appreciate how important education is to creating a fairer society. Sadly, schools in Wales have suffered from years of under-investment from the Welsh Labour Government. Today we are taking big steps to change that.
“I am also pleased that we have negotiated an extra £50 million to go towards helping our struggling A&E departments. It is critical that timely discharge arrangements are in place to ensure that more beds are freed up. This investment will relieve some of the pressure that is currently being placed on our A&E departments.”
The Welsh Conservatives have criticised the deal.
Paul Davies AM, Shadow Minister for Finance, said: “Once again, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats are propping up a tired and lazy Labour government.
“It is sad to see Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems throwing in the towel at this early stage and endorsing Labour’s record-breaking cuts to the Welsh NHS, which has already seen its budget slashed by 8.6% by Labour Ministers since 2010.”
If we made sure that the NHS chased costs associated with treating those who are not entitled to free treatment, the quality of care given to those entitled would increase hugely. One report recently published ( I'll tray and find the link) put the total cost over the last ten year at £14bn for the whole of the UK. Think what could be done with that extra money.