Welsh Government to get £1.2bn funding boost

The Prime Minister has urged the Welsh Government to commit to investing in the NHS an extra £1.2bn it is due to receive as a result of NHS spending she's announced for England.

Theresa May announced a five year budget that will lead to an increased £20bn a year for the health service in England.

The extra cash follows the prime minister's announcement that, in the NHS's 70th year, an extra £20 billion a year by 2023/24 will be invested in health services across the UK.

It will see the Welsh Government receive additional Barnett funding worth £1.2 billion over the same period.

Read more: Is May’s money for NHS really a Brexit 'dividend'?

Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns, echoed the Prime Minister.

He called on the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething, to secure agreement from the First Minister of Wales to ensure the windfall is directed to improving the NHS in Wales.

The Welsh Government said it will make its own spending decisions but that any increase is unlikely to make up for £4bn of cuts its seen in recent years.

There has been criticism too of the Prime Minister for claiming that some of the funding will come from a 'Brexit dividend'and for confirming that part of it will come from increased taxes.

However Welsh Conservatives welcomed the news as a welcome boost for the NHS in Wales and similarly urged the Welsh Government to follow suit.