‘Business as usual’ budget for Wales, but long-term plan needed more than ever

Responding to the Welsh Government’s Final Budget 2026-27, director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, Darren Hughes, said:

“NHS leaders in Wales broadly welcome the final budget during a difficult time for public finances. The proportion of Welsh Government spend on the NHS does not go unrecognised and the additional funding for health and social care is welcomed.

“Many local government services, including social care, education, social housing and planning and development are wider determinants of health, so the uplift for local government will also be welcome in going some way to address rising cost and demand.

“However, we know this is a fairly ‘business as usual’ budget, given the proximity to the Senedd election, meaning we have not seen the significant shifts we’ve been calling for. This includes a meaningful shift to prevention across departments and capital investment that meets the needs of services in order to bring down running costs and improve services in the face of rising demand.

“Unless we think long term and target areas such as social care, prevention and capital investment, we can’t expect demand to come down on its own and see tangible improvement for the people of Wales.”