THE New Year in the Senedd is in full swing and a key part of our business will be the Welsh Government’s Draft Budget for 2016-17.

The ‘Fairer, Better Wales – Investing for the future’ spending plans were published in December 2015. They set out how the Welsh Labour Government intends to use the Block Grant from Westminster to protect public services that matter most, encourage business and support communities.

Despite a poor settlement from the UK Government which means our overall budget will be 11% lower by 2019-20 than it was in 2010-11; the Welsh Labour Government are increasing spending in health, social services, schools and further education.

The NHS is an area I’ll be concentrating on, an issue that constituents raise with me time and time again. Wales’ Health budget has been increased by £260m this financial year, taken with the extra £1.1bn investment over the past two years.

For me, Wales can be proud that we recognise the link between health and social care funding. I’ve always made the case for more investment in social care and I’m really pleased to see an additional £21m in the draft budget. It means that we can invest today for a sustainable healthcare system. Unlike in England where the Chancellor promises more cash for the NHS whilst cutting other parts of the health and social care budget to fund it.

There will also be increased funding for the Intermediate Care Fund -preventing hospital admission and facilitating early discharge for older and vulnerable patients.

However, the hand we have been dealt by Westminster makes it impossible to protect all services. I want to ensure that we continue to work with councils like Torfaen to sustain the really important services they currently provide against the backdrop of lower budgets.

In the Senedd and the Health Committee, I’ll be looking for the earliest opportunities to raise this with Ministers, and to drill down into further detail and ensure that we continue our record of spending more per head on health than in England.

It’s also crucial to note our continued investment in schools – we spend more per head than in England here too. And our focus on prevention and early intervention through protecting initiatives like Flying Start, Supporting People and Communities First from reductions.

I’ll be standing up for my constituents needs throughout the budget process and I would like to hear your views. You can contact me at Lynne.Neagle@assembly.wales or on 01495 740022.