Proposed Budget Changes

Presiding Officer,

Assembly Members will be aware that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, announced in his Pre-Budget Report that an additional one billion pounds would be made available to the NHS in 2002-2003 financial year.

The consequential adjustment for the National Assembly for Wales’ Department Expenditure Limit is forty-nine million, three hundred and sixteen thousand pounds (£49.316 million).

Following careful consideration with Jane Hutt and other Cabinet colleagues I can confirm today that the Welsh Assembly Government has decided to make this additional provision available to Health and Social Services in Wales. Health needs in Wales are always changing and services are always in a state of development. The additional sums announced today will allow us to respond to the changing needs, for example in the field of palliative care where the Assembly government's strategy will be brought forward over the coming months. Jane Hutt will be announcing the details of how she proposes to allocate these additional resources over the course of the next few days.

In addition, a further six hundred and ten thousand pounds will be added to the National Assembly’s Departmental Expenditure Limit in 2002-2003 and eight hundred and sixty two thousand pounds in 2003-2004. This is Wales’ share of additional resources made available to the Department for Education and Skills. These sums will allow us to progress our existing commitment to the further expansion of medical education, including the Swansea Graduate Entry Medical scheme and is yet further evidence of this government's determination that we should invest, now, in creating the workforce upon which the future of public services in Wales will depend.

I am also able to announce that the Chancellor has increased the National Assembly’s provision for Annually Managed Expenditure. The additional sums are four million pounds for 2003-2004 and seven million pounds for 2004-2005.  This is for Housing Benefit in the context of Pension Credit costs. As with all Annually Managed Expenditure this is ring-fenced.

These additional resources will be formally added to the appropriate Assembly Main Expenditure Groups when I deliver my supplementary budget in March.