New cash for Welsh social services

Welsh Assembly minister for health and social services Jane Hutt
received a warm reception in Cardiff last week after the
announcement that Welsh social services were to receive an extra
£230m a year by 2005-6.

The draft budget announced earlier in the week contained an
additional £6.1m for services and organisations supporting
children, an extra £500,000 for the Children’s Commissioner,
£12.4m to relieve delayed transfers of care for older people
and an extra £2.5m for social services reforms and
training.

Hutt said she wanted “to see this reflected in the service provided
to the people in Wales”.

Referring to the critical report of Welsh social services published
by the joint review team earlier in the week, she added: “There is
some very good quality work across Wales and I applaud that. But
there is also evidence of serious weaknesses in some services and
in some authorities.”