, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
Thank you. Peter, we've got a quarter of an hour or so.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
Lovely, thank you very much. And finally from me—and then I'll turn to Peter and then on to Mike—for social services, in the ADSS Cymru response to the consultation, you recognise the challenges the NHS are facing this winter, but note that local government…
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
Thank you very much. The £336 million additional funding for 2023-24 allocated to the health board on a recurrent basis is conditional on making progress towards reducing the level of deficit. How will it work in practice? What are the consequences then to…
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
So, if anything, you're probably in the most favourable position of your colleagues at the moment, then, in a very difficult—
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
How do you compare to your colleagues in other health boards?
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
And you've talked a lot about managing down deficits by 10 per cent. How achievable is that, or was that? Obviously, you talked a little bit about it earlier.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
Right, okay. Thank you. So, in your consultation response, you say the allocation of an additional £460.2 million for local health boards in 2023-24, which the Government announced in November 2023, 'delayed collective action which could have improved the…
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
Yes. So, if everything is a priority, nothing's a priority.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
It's very, very tough to answer, and everybody is in difficult situations at the moment. So, if we can move on to looking at a little bit of the financial pressures and the sustainability of the sectors, possibly to Darren, in January 2023, the Minister for…
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
But it would have a knock-on effect on the most vulnerable and the poorest in society.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
So, we're looking at extreme pressure, as the Government has said, and we're aware of it, and it needs to carefully consider—that's what it says—whether additional funding can and should be raised by increasing charges for a range of services, such as NHS…
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
So, is it a cycle, then, of fewer staff means more pressure on the staff that are there and so on?
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
Okay. Thank you very much. Looking at social care, the Welsh Government identifies social care and social services within core day-to-day local government-run services. It has reprioritised £11 million from the social care workforce grant, which it says will…
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
Thank you. And Darren.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
Is it a reasonable ask by the Minister?
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
So, how realistic is it to get financial stability within this financial year?
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
Okay. Thanks. [Interruption.] Yes.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
And so, based on that funding coming through, the expectation is to see waiting times drop within the next 12 months.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
Okay, thank you for that. Looking at the specific outcomes that Welsh Government are expecting from the NHS organisations, maybe to Darren: what are the specific outcomes Welsh Government are expecting from all organisations to deliver for the additional…
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
Mike, did you want to come in on this point?
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
I'll bring Darren in, and then I'll bring Mike in. Yes, Mike, I can see you.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
Either you, Carys, or Lance.
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
Peter, did you want to just come in on that?
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
So, from your side of the table, if you like, then, obviously, that side has had quite a lot of money given to it in October, it's extra money going into the NHS. What's the knock-on effect on social services? Because you're not necessarily having the same…
, Finance Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Evidence session 6
Anything to add, Lance?
