FM says Wales will not face Scotland-size cuts

Eluned Morgan said the Welsh government had already taken difficult decisions on the budget.

Wales will not face cuts on the scale of Scotland where the SNP government is slashing £500m from its budget, the first minister has said.

Eluned Morgan's ministers will present their spending plans for health, education and other public services later this year.

She said the Welsh government had "taken quite a lot of the pain already" - it made £446m in savings in the last budget.

Ms Morgan was appointed to replace Vaughan Gething after his resignation in the summer and is expected to announce her cabinet soon. She said that with one exception she had made "no promises" to her colleagues.

On Monday Scotland's SNP finance secretary announced cuts worth up to £500m to balance the government's budget.

She blamed public sector pay deals, "prolonged" Westminster austerity, inflation, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Academics warned before the general election of steep cuts to come for the Welsh government, estimating in June that the Labour UK government would need to provide another £683m to avoid cuts to non-protected areas of spending.

In the last budget every Welsh government department except healthcare saw real terms cuts, with rural affairs the worst hit, with a total of £446m in savings.

Eluned Morgan (centre) and Lynne Neagle (right) were marking the completion of the rollout of free school meals to all state primary school pupils

Ms Morgan, who was effectively appointed by Labour after no other candidate came forward for the job, said: "Well, we've made some really difficult decisions in the past two budgets in Wales, so we think we've taken quite a lot of the pain already."

Asked if there could be a budget like Scotland's, she added: "We're not expecting to see that kind of situation, because we've already made those hard choices."

Ms Morgan announced Mark Drakeford as interim health minister in August, but is yet to make a full cabinet reshuffle.

She will have to decide whether to appoint the ex-first minister Vaughan Gething to the cabinet, as well as whether to give jobs to four former members of the government who resigned to trigger Mr Gething's resignation.

Ms Morgan, who was taking part in a photo-opportunity with Education Secretary Lynne Neagle, was asked if the presence of Ms Neagle was a sign she would be staying on.

"I've made no promises to anyone", she said, "other than Huw Irranca-Davies, who is going to be the deputy first minister."

Ms Morgan and Ms Neagle were marking the completion of the roll out of free school meals for all primary school pupils - something which had been developed with Plaid Cymru while a co-operation deal was in force.

The first minister defended the spending on free school meals amid the difficult financial situation.

"There was a stigma attached quite often to people applying for free school meals, and so we've got rid of that in primary schools," she said.

'I've been listening'

Plaid Cymru criticised the first minister on Wednesday, accusing her government of a "summer of inaction" over the NHS problems like waiting times.

Mabon ap Gwynfor, Plaid's health spokesman, said: "The temporary appointment of Mark Drakeford could be seen as a decision that was made to appease the Labour benches following months of chaos and infighting."

Ms Morgan said: "I made it absolutely clear that I was going to take the summer to listen, to get the priorities of the public, and that's what I've been doing.

"I can be absolutely clear that there will be some priorities set by the time we get back to the Senedd, when it starts properly in a couple of weeks time."

'Fingers in her ears'

Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, said: "The first minister has clearly had her fingers in her ears during her so-called ‘listening tour’.

"Keir Starmer’s Labour has made the political decision to push pensioners into fuel poverty by cutting the Winter Fuel Payment, yet Baroness Morgan has failed to challenge this decision.

"Instead of prioritising the creation of more Senedd politicians, Baroness Morgan should be focussed on keeping Welsh pensioners warm this winter."

The Welsh government had warned in August that the cut to the universal nature of the winter fuel payment risked pushing some pensioners into fuel poverty.