UK Government says £430 million of additional funding from the UK Reserve will be made available to the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to progress their vaccine rollout and wider Covid-19 response.
Welsh Government will receive £135m as part of the package to assist as the Omicron variant has led to a spike in cases in England and Scotland.
This has seen the booster rollout ramped up and comes as hospitality businesses are impacted as concerns grow over the variant and potential restrictions to control it.
Scottish Government is receiving £220m and the Northern Ireland Executive £75 million. This follows an increase in spending in England to help deal with the surge.
The SNP run administration in Edinburgh has already announced there will be an extra £100m in funding for businesses impacted by the latest crisis and pressure is growing on Welsh Government to announce how it will support firms hit by cancellations at a critical time for the sector. .
HM Treasury said it had announced that additional funding will be made available now - rather than wait to calculate the exact Barnett consequential - to provide greater certainty and "allow them to plan as they tackle Covid-19 during the crucial weeks ahead".
These amounts will be kept under review in the coming weeks.
UK Government said it has already provided the devolved administrations with an extra £12.6 billion through the Barnett formula this year –and that this was on top of UK Government spending on vaccines and tests for the whole of the UK and UK-wide support for businesses and jobs like the furlough scheme.
Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart said: "This funding announcement provides certainty for the devolved Welsh Government as it looks to plan its pandemic response for the coming weeks and will be followed by a record £18bn a year settlement from the recent Budget so Welsh Government can deliver vital services including health, education and flood protection in the coming years.
“We will continue to do everything we can to build back better from the pandemic, creating jobs and growing a strong economy in Wales and across the UK.”
If the amount of funding provided up front to each devolved administration is more than the Barnett consequentials confirmed at Supplementary Estimates then the difference will be repaid in 2022-23, or over the Spending Review period if necessary.
If the Barnett consequentials are higher than the amount provided up front then the devolved administrations will keep the extra funding.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: "We are working with the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to drive the vaccine rollout to all corners of the United Kingdom and ensure people and businesses all across the country are supported.”
