Welsh budget: Labour and Plaid Cymru agree £119m deal
Welsh budget: Labour promises extra £240m for NHS
(about 3 hours later)
Extra money for health, colleges, councils and the Welsh language has been promised after Plaid Cymru agreed a £119m deal to back Labour's budget.
An extra £240m for the NHS has been announced in the Welsh budget.
With no majority, the Welsh Government needs some opposition support to get spending plans of around £15bn passed.
Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford has also promised £10m for a pilot scheme to provide 30 hours of free childcare for three and four year olds.
Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford said the agreement gave a "kick start" to key priorities, as he prepared to give AMs more details on Tuesday.
There are cuts to some areas of local government, community projects and education, including the end of the £20m Schools Challenge Cymru scheme.
The Tories claimed the deal proved they were now the "real opposition".
Total spending is slightly down at £14.95bn, but Mr Drakeford warned AMs of "further cuts to come" at UK level.
Budget talks took place under the post-election deal by which Plaid agreed to support Carwyn Jones's return as first minister.
"We continue to face ongoing cuts to our budget as a result of decisions made by the UK government. We cannot hide from the challenges this presents," he told the Senedd on Tuesday.
The extra money for health includes cash to boost medical training, mental health and new diagnostic equipment.
"We are facing a period which the Institute for Fiscal Studies calls an extraordinary 11 or more years of retrenchment in public service spending.
Nominal cuts planned for local councils - who shared a 2% budget reduction last year - have been cancelled, Plaid Cymru said.
'Challenges'
Other measures include a feasibility study into reopening the Carmarthen-Aberystwyth rail line and quicker action on building a by-pass for Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire.
"This is also a Budget which has been developed against the backdrop of the outcome of the EU referendum and the uncertain future of vital European funding streams. Our plans have been shaped by these unprecedented challenges.
Mr Drakeford hailed the budget talks as "a milestone in the maturity of Welsh politics".
"In these uncertain times, we have published a one-year revenue budget, which will provide stability and assurances for our valued public services in the immediate future while we work collectively to plan for the future."
"No party has a monopoly on good ideas and we have been able to incorporate many of Plaid Cymru's spending plans into this draft budget," he said.
Among other cuts in the budget are a £90m reduction in day-to-day education spending, a £125m cut to the children, young people and families budget and a £10m cut to CAFCASS, the family courts advisory service.
"The budget agreement delivers a kick start to delivery for many key policies and programmes, so the people of Wales can start to see their benefits as early as possible."
Local government gets a real-terms cut in its day-to-day spending, but a large increase in the amount of capital funds available for one-off projects.
Plaid finance spokesman Adam Price said that his party had used its role as official opposition to deliver "tangible benefits" for the people of Wales.
Other measures include £111m for apprenticeships and traineeships and £4.5m towards another key Labour pledge, raising the residential care capital limit to £50,000.
"In this budget deal, we have secured the biggest one-year budget settlement in the history of the National Assembly," he said.
The additional spending on the NHS comes after claims from the Nuffield Trust that an extra £2.5bn was needed to spend on the service over the next decade.
"This is a £119m package that will deliver and progress many of Plaid Cymru's manifesto commitments."
With Labour holding 29 of the 60 seats in Cardiff Bay, ministers had already announced a deal with Plaid Cymru to ensure the budget will pass through the Senedd.
However, Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies dismissed the deal as "groundhog day again".
The agreement - covering £119m worth of spending - included a promise of £30m extra funding for higher and further education and £5m to boost the Welsh language.
"The nationalists are rowing in behind Labour and propping them up for another 12 months of failure," he told the BBC's Good Morning Wales radio programme.
Plaid Cymru finance spokesman Adam Price said his party had used its role as official opposition to deliver "tangible benefits" for the people of Wales.
"It is regrettable that not more of a challenge is put forward against the Welsh Labour government here."
However, Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies dismissed the deal as "groundhog day again", telling BBC Radio Wales that "the nationalists are rowing in behind Labour and propping them up for another 12 months of failure".
Confirming on Monday that a deal had been done, Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said it showed how the party was being constructive in its opposition to Labour, following criticism by Lord Elis-Thomas over the party's stance towards the government.
The Dwyfor Meirionnydd AM quit Plaid Cymru on Friday, claiming the party was not "serious" about working with Labour.
Analysis by BBC Wales political editor Nick Servini
It appears to be all sweetness and light between Labour and Plaid Cymru as the Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford has grandly described their joint working on the budget as a "milestone in the maturity of Welsh politics".
A joint statement has been released largely outlining Plaid's policy priorities worth £119m, which will be celebrated as wins for the party as it heads to Llangollen for its annual conference on the weekend.
Interestingly, Plaid's Adam Price says nominal cuts to Welsh councils for next year will be cancelled.
Local authorities have played second fiddle to the NHS in recent years, but with council elections next spring, there has been some heavy lobbying from town hall leaders looking for a better deal before they put themselves up for re-election.
