WALES’ new finance secretary insisted inflation-busting pay rises for teachers, doctors and nurses will not lead to a reduction in spending on public services.

Mark Drakeford, who was named finance secretary last week, said the Welsh Government worked through the summer to ensure funding is in place to support pay awards.

He told the Senedd: “As a result of all that work, we are confident we can fund these awards without the need to reduce spending in these or other public services.”

In a statement on September 17, the ex-First Minister said teachers will receive 5.5% with an extra £5m to move additional learning needs co-ordinators to a leadership pay range.

He explained that doctors and nurses on ‘Agenda for Change’ terms will also receive 5.5% while NHS-employed doctors and dentists will receive 6%.

Prof Drakeford added that ministers have agreed an average 5% increase to the total pay bill for staff in the Welsh Government civil service and arm’s-length bodies.

He said: “Taken together, this means that over 180,000 public sector workers – from hospital cleaners to teachers and civil servants – will receive an above-inflation pay award this year.”

But the finance secretary, who previously held the role from 2016 until 2018 when he became First Minister, cautioned that the financial climate remains challenging.

“Difficult decisions will once again shape next year’s budget,” he said.

“However, making this decision now, giving certainty to public sector employers and, crucially, those who work in our public services, means that increases will be reflected in pay packets as soon as possible, and before the end of this year at the latest.”

The Welsh Government will publish its draft 2025/26 spending plans on December 10.

Peter Fox, the Conservatives’ shadow finance secretary, welcomed some pay increases, saying they will go some way to improving retention rates in health and education.

But he raised concerns about public pay as a whole in his response to the statement.

Mr Fox, who represents Monmouth, said: “We must be careful that both this government and the one in Westminster do not lose control of public pay.

“The Labour government in Westminster has offered almost £10,000 pay rises to train drivers, who are already on more than £60,000 a year, while taking much-needed fuel payments from our pensioners.

“I’m glad that you are confident that, unlike your colleagues in Westminster, you do not feel as if you have to cut services for this round of pay rises. That’s welcome.

“However, as you indicate, there could be more public sector rises to come.

“With this in mind, what reassurances can you give the people of Wales that these future pay rises are not going to come at the expense of the most vulnerable people in society?”

His Plaid Cymru counterpart Heledd Fychan broadly welcomed the pay rises as she called for an update on local government staff who are not part of the latest settlement.

But she warned: “The fact that the Labour government in Westminster is as committed, it would appear, to austerity as their Conservative predecessors is deeply concerning.”

Ms Fychan said anything less than pay restoration to pre-austerity levels would point to empty promises in terms of the benefits of Labour governments at both ends of the M4.

The South Wales Central MS stressed that pay alone will not solve all the problems facing the workforce, nor resolve difficulties recruiting and retaining staff.

She said: “Although pay was a factor in the industrial action we have seen, it is important that we also acknowledge that staff have also decided to take action because of their concerns about working conditions.”

Carolyn Thomas, a Labour backbencher, who represents North Wales, welcomed the uplift in public sector pay, asking about the social care and childcare sectors.

Prof Drakeford pointed to Welsh Government funding to ensure social care workers are paid the real living wage and committed to working closely with councils on childcare.

He said: “There are other groups of workers in the public sector who we know do not get the recognition, both in public esteem and in pay, for the value of the work that they do.”

Plaid Cymru’s Peredur Owen Griffiths asked about people employed by charities, such as nurses in hospices who benchmark against public sector pay awards.

Prof Drakeford told the finance committee chair: “We recognise that deals that are set in the direct public service have knock-on implications for the third sector.

“We have a range of ways in which we are able to navigate that.”

OPPOSITION Senedd members accused Wales’ new First Minister Eluned Morgan of passing the buck as latest statistics showed record-long waiting lists.

Mabon ap Gwynfor pointed out that six Labour frontbenchers have held the health portfolio over the past 25 years, including the current and two former First Ministers.

The Plaid Cymru shadow health secretary said: “Although we have seen different faces coming and going over the summer, it’s the same old story when it comes to the health service.

“Standards going down, waiting times getting longer, staff being pushed to the extreme, and from the government? – nothing but repeated empty promises.”

Mr ap Gwynfor, who represents Dwyfor Meironnydd, accused ministers of putting the horse before the cart by “fixating” on outcomes without first plotting a credible path.

Leading a Plaid Cymru debate, he criticised Eluned Morgan for pointing the finger at health board executives, saying it typifies a tendency to blame everyone else.

Sam Rowlands, the Conservatives’ shadow health secretary, similarly accused the First Minister of passing the buck to NHS executives.

He said: “Health boards have a big job to do to work through these waiting lists but a First Minister and a government must not abdicate its responsibility,”

Pointing out that the Welsh Government previously cut the health budget, he urged ministers to spend the full 20% uplift from spending in England on NHS Wales.

Mr Rowlands, who represents North Wales, warned the Welsh health service is worse on every major metric, with 23,000 people on waiting lists for more than two years.

The former council leader highlighted the Darzi review of the NHS in England as he called for a similar independent investigation in Wales.

Rhun ap Iorwerth also focused on the “damning” Darzi report.

He said: “Keir Starmer is right … the situation in England is disastrous … more than 10% of the population of England on waiting lists. But in Wales, of course, the figure is 20%.”

Mr ap Iorwerth reiterated his party’s calls for the Welsh Government to declare a health crisis but he accused ministers of being unwilling to recognise the gravity of the situation.

He asked: “If it’s not an emergency, then how can the situation be described?

“And how can Labour describe a situation in England as a crisis when the situation in Wales in so many ways is so much worse?”

The Ynys Môn MS said 316 people were waiting a year for their first appointment in 2012, with the corresponding figure now standing at more than 74,000.

Jenny Rathbone, a Labour backbencher, accused the Conservatives of being unfair to Baroness Morgan by failing to recognise the “heavy lifting” she did as health minister.

The Cardiff Central MS stressed the importance of community social care, saying hundreds of people medically do not need to be in the University Hospital of Wales in Heath, Cardiff.

Plaid Cymru’s Sioned Williams accused the UK Government of continuing to apply austerity. She said studies show poverty makes people ill, so austerity is damaging people’s health.

Her party colleague Cefin Campbell warned children and young people are suffering most as a result of the Welsh Government’s “persistent inability to reduce waiting lists”.

Mr Campbell told the chamber at least 8,200 children and young people have been waiting more than a year, with 1,200 waiting at least two years.

He said: “The situation is particularly severe in Betsi Cadwaladr, where 62% of people under the age of 18 are having to wait longer than two years. 62% – it’s shameful.”

Wales’ new health secretary Jeremy Miles told the debate on September 18 that cutting waiting times is at the top of his to-do list after his appointment a week earlier.

Mr Miles told the chamber long waiting times are a result of the pandemic and a decade of austerity which “cast a long shadow”.

The former Welsh Labour leadership contender claimed work to reduce waiting times is having an impact despite financial pressures and a significant increase in demand.

He said: “Long waits of over two years have reduced by 67% since its high point in March 2022, and long waits for diagnostic tests have reduced by almost a third.

“Now, around 3% of people on waiting lists are waiting longer than two years compared with almost 10% in March 2022.”

The health secretary said the Welsh Government’s recovery plan is driving waits down as he pointed to an extra £900m for the NHS this year and last.

Mr Miles, who previously held responsibility for education and the economy, recognised there is too much variation across Wales in terms of productivity and performance.

Highlighting a new waiting times bulletin, he said: “It will help us identify good performance and where health boards need to do more to learn from those making the best progress.”

The Neath MS said the NHS will introduce a “one-stop” approach to reduce the number of appointments needed and streamline pathways by removing unnecessary steps.

Mr ap Gwynfor was disappointed by the health secretary’s response, accusing Labour of continuing an austerity agenda and failing to provide a fair funding settlement for Wales.

Plaid Cymru’s motion was narrowly defeated, 23-24, with the Conservatives voting in favour and Labour against. The Welsh Government’s “delete-all” amendment was agreed.

Monthly NHS performance data, published this morning, shows some improvements but overall waiting lists continue to worsen.

The headline figure for patient pathways – which include people waiting for more than one treatment – was 796,600 waiting to start treatment – the highest on record.

This is estimated to equate to 616,700 people, another unwelcome record.

The number of immediately life-threatening “red” calls responded to within eight minutes was up 3.6% to 51.8% on the previous month. But this remains short of the 65% target.

In Wales’ emergency departments, the number of patients spending less than four hours in A&E remained flat at 69.3% against a target of 95%.

The health service also missed a target of no patient waiting more than 12 hours, with 9,489 waiting at least 12 hours, though this metric improved by 6.6% in August.

But the number of pathways waiting more than a year for a first outpatient appointment worsened, with a 2.6% increase to 76,132.

Performance against a target of 75% of cancer patients starting treatment within 62 days declined to 55% in July, down 1.7% on the previous month and 3.2% annually.

THE Welsh Language Commissioner has called for more action to be taken in dementia care for Welsh speakers. In a policy paper published by the Commissioner, it notes that little progress has been made since recommendations were made in a joint report with Alzheimer’s Society Wales back in 2018.

The Commissioner notes, though, that some positive steps have been taken in recent years and welcomes the reconvening of the dementia and Welsh language group. But she wants to see an increase in momentum, so that provision for patients and families can be improved in the coming years.

Among the Commissioner’s recommendations are:

• Ensuring that the evaluation of the Dementia Action Plan for Wales collates the experiences of Welsh speaking patients and carers 
• Ensuring Wales’s next action plan for dementia has the Welsh language as a core element
• The need for the Welsh Government to lead on formulating a specific delivery plan for the development of Welsh medium dementia care pathways, prioritising areas such as data collection, increasing language awareness, assessments and resources, and language training.

The Commissioner also recommends the creation of a dedicated role to lead on the Welsh language and dementia to ensure the proposed work is delivered.

According to Efa Gruffudd Jones, Welsh Language Commissioner, it is vital to be able to offer care services in the patient’s preferred language,

“It has now been six years since we published a report on dementia care for Welsh speakers. The momentum that existed following the publication of that report and the establishment of an action subgroup has slowed significantly. I accept that the pandemic was a factor in that but we now need to rebuild the momentum to be able to offer suitable dementia care through the Welsh language.

“I recognise that some significant strategic and statutory steps have been taken in recent years. NHS Health Boards and Trusts are now under a duty to comply with Welsh language standards. The Welsh Government’s new More than just words plan includes a number of actions that underpin the requirements of the Welsh language standards, and together set a clear direction for the healthcare sector in Wales.

“Seeing the dementia and Welsh language group meeting again is also to be welcomed, and I hope to see this group contribute to the Welsh Government’s design process for a new dementia scheme in Wales.

“But progress is slow and as we set out our recommendations, we also encourage the creation of a dedicated role that can lead on this work. In my view that is the only way  we can move forward appropriately and in a timely manner.”