Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 1:42 pm on 16 October 2019.
Thank you. Well, we've already set out in the statement that I made on the spending review that Welsh Government's priority will continue to be the NHS in Wales to ensure that people have access to excellent healthcare wherever they live in Wales. But, alongside that, we're very keen to ensure that local government does get the best possible settlement for many of the reasons that we’ve already discussed this afternoon—so, the importance of social care, for example, and the importance of all of those services that keep our communities going.
So, those are our two priority areas, but I’ve been having discussions with all Ministers across Government to explore how we can assist them with the pressures that they’re facing. Because, as you know, one of the big areas of spend—around 50 per cent of Welsh Government’s budget—actually goes to pay. And it’s fantastic to see pay increases, but if the additional funding doesn’t come in full from the UK Government, which is hasn’t done, then that does put greater pressure on Welsh Government.
We’ve also been looking, though, across Government, through the lens of those eight priority areas, to explore where there are areas where we can potentially make new and additional funding commitments that will be able to make a difference in those particular eight areas that we have identified as being the ones that could have the greatest impact for people in Wales.