3. What consideration will the Welsh Government give to the impact on Wales of possible additional NHS and social care funding in England when allocating funding to the health and social services portfolio? OQ56802

Funding for health and social care has always been a priority in Wales, highlighted by the additional £550 million provided in August to support recovery. We acknowledge the additional funding resulting from UK Government decisions, however the outcome of the comprehensive spending review will be the basis for our budgetary allocations. 

I thank the Minister for that response and, as we’ve heard already today in this Senedd Chamber, what we’re seeing in effect is a classic pickpocket trick—somebody is smiling in your face whilst taking the money out of the back pocket of local authorities; out of employers, some of whom will be employing care staff; and out of low-paid staff themselves in care and in the NHS. So, it is a terrible trick to play on people, but they’re smiling while they do it.

But could I ask: do we have any idea about the timescale for the reporting of the inter-ministerial group which has now been reformed? We’ve done so much work in Wales already, well ahead of any consideration they’ve given to this matter in England. We have our ideas in place. In fact, we’ve already put some of them in place, such as reducing the cost on care charges and the amount you can keep on your own residential property. But there’s a lot to be done, including raising the wages of those who deliver care. When are we likely to see the outcome of the deliberations of the inter-ministerial group?

Huw Irranca-Davies, obviously, is right that we are many steps ahead of the UK Government in terms of the thinking that we’ve done on this issue and, of course, Huw was the original chair of that inter-ministerial group which pulled together interests from across Government to ensure that we were considering this in a very holistic way, not just, as I said previously, looking at how we raise and distribute the finance.

And again he’s right that we have taken steps which put people in Wales, actually, at an advantage as compared to people in England, because here we have the weekly maximum on the amount that a person can be charged for all of the care and support that they are assessed as requiring at home and in the community. The money that people can keep before paying for care is also much higher here than it is in England.

So, we’re many steps ahead already, but the challenge ahead, I think, as I know Huw Irranca-Davies appreciates, is huge in terms of our ageing population and so on. So, we’ll bring that group together very quickly. We did meet just before the end of the Senedd term, so this isn’t a piece of work which has been on the shelf for a while. Actually, we kept it going right to the end of the Senedd, so it’s just a case of reconvening and picking up where we left off.

Good afternoon, Minister. Thanks to the actions of the UK Government, Wales will get more than its fair share of the additional national insurance contributions. The additional levy on NI and dividends have been ring-fenced for health and social care spending. How will the Welsh Government ensure that the £0.7 billion that Wales will receive as a result of the UK Government's funding reforms will make it to front-line services? Do you believe that the funding raised via the social care levy should by hypothecated and not form part of the revenue support grant given to local authorities? You've been calling for extra funds, and now you've got them, it's high time that you damn well get on with it and set out your plans for social care, because you've not done thus far.

We don't use language of that nature, really.

We do. We do. We do.

No, you don't. Okay. Answer the substantive points of the question, please, Minister.

I will, and I'll inform the Member that Wales actually doesn't get more than its fair share; on a good day we get our fair share. I'm very interested that the Member seems to be opposed to the funding that Wales gets as a result of our unique social and economic position, and the negotiations that the First Minister previously did, to ensure that Wales had its fair share in terms of Barnett consequentials. But if you think Wales is getting its fair share when we get nothing when Northern Ireland gets a £1 billion bung, then I really don't understand whether you're fighting for the UK Government here or whether you're fighting for your constituents.