Two-year budget plan agreed by Labour and Plaid Cymru

A NEW budget deal for Wales has been agreed by Plaid Cymru and Labour.

The Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru have announced they have agreed a two-year £210m budget .

The agreement, announced today, builds on the one-year programme struck between Labour and Plaid Cymru last year worth £119m.

At that time Welsh Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford, pictured right, said that it had been impossible to publish a three-year budget due to uncertainty over future funding.

This time money is allocated for either 2018-19 or 2019-20.

In details revealed in an announcement today, £30m of funding is guaranteed for the Tata power plant in Port Talbot and a continued commitment to possible extensions to the South Wales Metro, including Mae- rdy and Rhondda Fach, is made.

They agree to fund a strategic outline case for the Swansea Bay and Western Valleys Metro proposal and a feasibility study into the creation of a National Archive for Wales.

A new specialist inpatient perinatal mental health support for new mothers and their babies in Wales will be developed.

And the Welsh Government says it will look into the next steps for the Rhondda Tunnel.

A £5m fund for feasibility studies into the prospect of a national art gallery and football museum in North Wales are also included in the 201920 allocation.

The deal includes £2m in 2019-20 to remove tolls from the Cleddau Bridge in Pembrokeshire and £3m to look at a third Menai bridge crossing split over the two years. There is also £15m to improve north and south road links on the A487 and A470.

There is an extra £20m a year for higher and further education and £6m for a young farmers’ grant scheme over two years.

It includes a £40m boost for mental health funding over two years and a £7m development fund for undergraduate medical training in North Wales.

There will be additional funding for the Welsh language and for Wales to deal with the impact of Brexit, including support for busi- nesses and for music in schools. Another £2m will be given to supporting the new Arfor economic region in West Wales. The Government say it also ensures no cuts will be made to the supporting people grant. Mr Drakeford said: “We are pleased we have been able to agree this two-year deal with Plaid Cymru, which secures the whole of our Budget. “This agreement builds on the one reached between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru last year and includes a series of recurrent allocations for the Welsh language, arts, end-of- life-care, mental health, higher education and Visit Wales.

“We have also been able to agree capital funding to take forward the new integrated healthcare centre in Cardigan and the results of the feasibility studies into a national art gallery and football museum in North Wales, which were agreed as part of last year’s agreement.”

Adam Price, Plaid Cymru’s spokesman for finance, business and the economy, said: “This is a budget agreement that will deliver for people and communities in all parts of Wales.

“It protects the vulnerable, invests in our young, and innovates for all our futures.”

But he added: “We are frustrated that the government rejected our calls for action on crucial issues such as the pay cap and tuition fees.”