Welsh Government budget allocates £294m across NHS, childcare and schools
Families, patients and young people across Flintshire and north Wales will be affected by a £294m spending plan published by the Welsh Government today, as the Plaid Cymru administration set out its priorities for the first time since taking office.
The First Supplementary Budget for 2026-27 was laid before the Senedd by Cabinet Minister for Finance Elin Jones. It will be debated and voted on 14 July.
Key figures at a glance
-£145m for NHS Wales, including £100m to reduce waiting lists
-£55m to expand funded childcare for two-year-olds
-£40m for school building maintenance across Wales
-£20m capital for social housing
-£15m to extend free school meals to more secondary pupils
-£8m to continue £1 bus fares for young people
-£11m from UK Government transfers for Freeports
The largest single allocation is £145m for the NHS. Of that, £100m in resource funding is directed at reducing waiting lists through what the Welsh Government describes as a targeted programme of planned care activity.
A further £25m capital will go toward new surgical and diagnostic hubs, with £20m set aside for maintenance work on hospital buildings.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which covers Flintshire and the rest of north Wales, is among the health boards expected to receive a share of the funding. Individual allocations to each health board have not been confirmed and will not be set until after the budget passes on 14 July.
Elin Jones, Cabinet Minister for Finance said: “We have inherited significant pressures in the NHS, in childcare, and across public services, and we are transparent about that. This Supplementary Budget concentrates resources on our clearest priorities: cutting NHS waiting times, expanding childcare, extending free school meals, and easing cost-of-living pressures for families.”For families with young children, the budget confirms £55m for childcare expansion. The money is aimed at extending 12.5 hours of funded childcare per week to all two-year-olds across Wales. Of the total, £25m is earmarked to meet existing demand under the Childcare Offer, including a change to the hourly rate that came into effect in April. A further £10m capital will fund improvements to childcare settings.”
The Welsh Government has described an eventual aim of 20 hours per week for all children aged nine months to four years, which it says would be the most generous childcare offer anywhere in the UK. The budget funds a phased step toward that goal. No completion date is set out in the budget documents.
Secondary school pupils from families on Universal Credit stand to benefit from a £15m allocation to extend free school meals.
The funding includes £5m resource and £10m capital for kitchen upgrades, with a phased rollout from September.
A £2m pilot of the Cynnal child payment, aimed at lower-income families with young children, is also confirmed, though the budget gives no detail on the number of families the pilot will reach or when payments will begin.
On transport, £8m will continue the £1 bus fare scheme for young people on Transport for Wales services, including routes across north Wales.
A separate £2m allocation covers a new north-south coach service described in the budget as due to start in early autumn. Route details have not yet been published.
The budget also sets aside £40m capital for school building maintenance across Wales and £20m capital for social housing.
As with the NHS allocation, the Welsh Government has not confirmed how these funds will be split between local authorities. Flintshire County Council will not know its share until after the 14 July vote at the earliest.
The budget includes £11m from UK Government transfers for Freeports and £15m for Investment Zones.
The Celtic Freeport, which covers sites including Deeside Industrial Park, is among the projects supported through the Freeports budget line.
A £4.8m carry-forward for the Holyhead Hydrogen Hub from the previous financial year is also included.
Ms Jones said: “This is about more than new funding, it’s about beginning to reshape how our public services work after 27 years of a previous government. This new Government will ensure that every pound delivers better outcomes: better childcare, better healthcare and better public services for the people of Wales.”
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