The NHS in Wales is set to get an extra £278 million next year, the Welsh Government has announced, but councils and universities face funding cuts.
As part of the draft budget for 2016/17, spending on the NHS will increase by 4.1% to £7.1 billion and education will rise by 1.1% to £2.1bn.
However spending on Welsh universities will be cut by £41m and the overall local council budget, which includes fire and rescue services, will reduce by 2% to £4.4bn.
Unveiling the draft budget on Tuesday, December 8, Finance Minister Jane Hutt said Wales had a tough funding settlement from the UK Government over the last five years – down by around 3.6% in real terms.
The majority of the Welsh Government’s £15.3bn budget comes from the UK Treasury.
She said: “This is a budget which will secure a fairer, better Wales. It is about investing for the future.
“It has been another challenging settlement which has been set against the backdrop of successive real terms cuts to our budget over the last five years. It has meant us taking difficult decisions but we have done all we can within these financial constraints to protect the services that matter most to the people of Wales.
“We have continued our record investment in health with more than a quarter of a billion pounds going to the Welsh NHS in 2016/17 – demonstrating our wider approach to the health and social care and the value of preventative spend. Crucially our plans mean that spending per head on health looks set to remain above the levels in England and spending on public health is protected.”
The NHS will get £260m added to its revenue budget, for day-to-day running costs, and a further £33m to spend on hospitals and equipment. However this is offset by cuts of around £15m, meaning a net increase of £278m.
The Conservatives described the draft budget as “too little, too late” for the NHS in Wales.
Shadow Minister for Finance, Nick Ramsay AM said: “This budget provides too little, far too late for our hardworking NHS staff.
“The damage has been done. Hospital downgrading, huge delays in waiting times, a failure to recruit staff. This chaos is a direct result of Labour’s record-breaking NHS budget cuts.
“By failing to protect the budget, our health service has been starved of one billion pounds since 2010/11.”
Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said: “Any increase in health investment is welcome but people will not be fooled by Labour’s smoke-and-mirrors budget. The pressures being faced by our NHS staff and all those who benefit from the service require sustained spending over the next five years.”
The budget is set to be passed with Liberal Democrat support in the Senedd. Finance spokesperson Peter Black AM said: “Let’s be clear. The positives in this budget are because of Welsh Liberal Democrat influence.”