The Welsh Labour party has promised to invest its share of any windfall raised through a mansion tax into training an extra 1,000 health professionals, including doctors, nurses and therapists.
Carwyn Jones, the Welsh first minister, said the bill would also be met by money raised via two other key Labour national proposals – the crackdown on tax avoidance and a tobacco levy.
The record on health of the Labour-controlled government in Wales has come under frequent attack from the coalition government and the media in recent months and is bound to feature strongly across the UK during the general election campaign. Welsh Labour’s pledge is being seen as its attempt to get on the front foot over the crucial issue.
Jones said: “This is a serious commitment to our NHS in Wales, only possible with the election of a Labour government in May. We know that people in Wales cherish their NHS, and want to see a safe, modern and sustainable service guaranteed for the future. We need more trained healthcare professionals to make that happen.
“In addition to the £500m we have already invested in the NHS over the next two years, Welsh Labour are demonstrating our commitment to frontline services even in tough times.
“This is a real dividing line with the Tories, who are trying to roll back more and more taxes for millionaires and want to cut the state down to 1930s levels. Welsh Labour is the party of the NHS, and we will always fight for its future.”
Welsh Labour claims that the mansion tax, tobacco levy and money generated through cracking down on tax evasion – all key UK-wide Labour policies – will be around £600m for Wales.
Speaking at his monthly press conference in Cardiff on Monday, Jones said the NHS Wales had coped well with the “incredible” levels of demand in recent weeks.
But he was also questioned about an ITV Cymru poll that found 43% of people questioned did not have confidence in the NHS in Wales.
Jones insisted that most people trusted the NHS – despite the “absolute hammering” the Welsh government endured from “some London papers” and from David Cameron – “someone who purports to be the prime minster of the UK while hammering part of the UK”.
He also denied that Welsh Labour was simply following the party in Scotland, where the new Scottish Labour leader, Jim Murphy, has pledged that the mansion tax would be used to fund 1,000 extra nurses.
The leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies, condemned Welsh Labour’s plans as “unworkable”. He said: “Given Labour’s very public rows following Scotland’s mansion tax plans, Ed Miliband’s likely to veto this idea anyway.”
The shadow Welsh secretary, Owen Smith, added: “The creation of the NHS is the single greatest Labour achievement, and that greatest thing about the NHS is its people. Training more frontline staff will be a huge boost for health services across Wales, but most importantly, will help relieve pressure in those areas that have seen demand for services hit record levels.
“We are able to make this commitment thanks to a tax on some of the wealthiest people in the UK. A proper redistributive tax that takes money from those with the most, to invest in something that we all use and love – our NHS.
“Only Labour will stand up for our health services and protect them from Tories, who are against this extra money for the Welsh NHS, and who failed even to mention the NHS in their list of priorities ahead of the election.”
Meanwhile, the Welsh nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, also announced on Monday that it would recruit 1,000 extra doctors. It claims the money to fund this could be found within the existing health and social care budget. It has also proposed a sugary drinks tax that would provide half the money it would need to bring in the policy.
Responding to the ITN poll, Darren Millar, the Tory shadow health minister at the Welsh assembly, said: “Despite the tireless efforts of doctors, nurses and other frontline NHS staff, Labour’s legacy of record-breaking health cuts has hit standards and capacity to meet patient demand.”
