Mental health a priority in Welsh draft Budget
Unveiling the draft Budget in mid-December, finance minister Rebecca Evans said health was a priority and its focus included improving mental healthcare – ring-fenced mental health funding will rise by £13m to £700m.
An additional £421m will be allocated to health and social care, which includes £385m in revenue and £36m in capital funding. Health and care revenue funding will rise to almost £8.4bn, while capital funding will total £374m.
Most of the extra revenue will be allocated to the NHS (£342m) and, as well as funding pay awards and inflationary cost growth, there will be investment in service transformation and new technologies.
Funding for Public Health Wales will increase by £6.8m, with nearly £5m of this supporting the development of a National Health Protection Service, fighting antimicrobial resistance and investing in Improvement Cymru.
Ms Evans said: ‘This draft Budget delivers on our promises to the people of Wales and invests to protect the future of our planet. Despite a decade of austerity, our plans will see investment in the Welsh NHS reach £37bn since the start of this Assembly term in 2016.’
Chancellor Sajid Javid (pictured) will deliver his Budget on 11 March – a decision that has affected the Scottish Budget process, said finance secretary Derek Mackay, who will present his Budget on 6 February. He said he could not set a date after 11 March as he wanted to offer clarity to public services and give enough time for scrutiny.
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