A Welsh budget for growth and jobs

Boosting economic growth, creating jobs, investing in schools and hospitals and protecting universal benefits are at the heart of the Welsh Labour Government’s Draft Budget for 2013-14, which was published today.

The £15.4bn Welsh Budget for Growth and Jobs invests in Wales’ future by supporting Welsh Labour’s strong commitment to social justice, sustainability, equality and protecting the most vulnerable in society. Despite the fact that the UK Government’s cuts mean the Welsh Budget will be £2.1bn lower in real terms by 2014-15 than at its peak in 2009-10, all Welsh Government departments see an increase in funding.

The Welsh Government’s Finance Minister, Jane Hutt, has also announced an additional £175m in capital investment over the next two years to support strategically important projects throughout Wales, creating or supporting up to 3,000 jobs and boosting the number of affordable homes by over 800. This investment includes:

• £65m for improving transport;
• £30m for hospitals, which includes £18m to support the redevelopment of Morriston Hospital;
• £25m for schools & colleges: including £15m in 2013-14 to accelerate a number of schemes under the 21st Century Schools programme;
• An additional £10m in 2014-15 for high-speed broadband to ensure universal access by 2015;
• An additional £13m for capital investment in Flying Start;
• £12m to expand the Welsh Housing Partnership;
• £10m for domestic energy efficiency;
• An additional £10m to support a programme of vital flood and coastal defence improvements across Wales.

Key Budget proposals for 2013-14 include:

• Continued protection for the Welsh health budget, with plans for the second year of the three year funding package of £288m for the NHS that was announced in last year’s Budget up to 2014-15;
• A commitment to growing the social services budget in the Revenue Support Grant: by 2014-15 this will be £35m higher each year than in 2010-11;
• Investing in all our children’s future: £19m in revenue funding, which forms part of the additional allocation of £55m announced in last year’s Budget to double the number children benefitting from Flying Start. This will bring the total additional investment for Flying Start over the three years 2012-13 to 2014-15 to £74m;
• Protecting funding for schools, which means that the Welsh Government will have invested an extra £185m in schools since 2010-11;
• Maintaining the commitment to the Pupil Deprivation Grant, with funding worth £36.8m in 2013-14 – an increase of £4.7m on 2012-13.