An extra �5m has been promised to help ease winter pressure on hospitals in Wales as part of the biggest ever budget windfall for health spending.

Health and social services were the biggest beneficiaries in Finance Minister Edwina Hart's �230m draft budget on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government unveiled on Tuesday - with an extra �110m pledged for health alone.

As well as her commitment to helping in the traditional seasonal pressures on hospital beds, Welsh Health Minister Jane Hutt said she would spend another �13m on hospital equipment and �2m on social services.

Draft Welsh Assembly Budget

Health: +�110m Education: +�30m Ryder Cup 2010 and Welsh 'Embassies': +�3.5m

The minister is also to direct cash at three planned new hospitals in Tenby, Merthyr Tydfil and Ebbw Vale.

"We are putting investment into key services and that is what people want to see," said Health Minister Jane Hutt.

Part of an assembly pledge to build 10 new hospitals, these will replace ageing buildings in the same communities.

But patients will want Ms Hutt to deliver on waiting list reductions, some targets for which have not been met. More details have been held back until next week's health committee gathering.

'I am prudent'

Interviewed on BBC Radio Wales on Wednesday, Edwina Hart recognised structural issues had hampered the flow of cash to patient care.

"Obviously, there are issues within the health agenda which we are ... determined to put right in the long-term," she said.

Jane Hutt has extra money to play with

"The problem is, we have got to get [money] out to the patients - and that has proved quite difficult. Health is at our core."

Ms Hart also pledged a 8.7% funds rise for education - most for Assembly Learning Grants.

Higher education, school buildings and equipment, smaller class sizes, small and rural schools and special educational needs also benefit.

The Welsh Assembly Government claimed the pledges for health and education showed its commitment to public services spending.

However, Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Conservatives said they were a sweetener to woo voters at next May's assembly elections.

Budget swelling

Ms Hart denied she was handing out "quick-win" money to win the election, claiming she was "quite a prudent finance minister".

The money which she distributes comes directly from the UK Treasury. Chancellor Gordon Brown, in his July spending review, gave Wales a 5% annual funds increase - the Welsh Assembly's budget swelling to �11.8bn by 2005/06.

Ms Hart's hand-out includes an 11% year-on-year increase for health services, including �11m for the new Local Health Boards.

Economic Development Minister Andrew Davies also announced how he will use �110m given by Ms Hart:

• �15m extra for broadband (that is on top of August's announcement of �100m yet Mr Davies said he wanted still more)

• Extra �16m for innovation (a new "innovation action plan" will be announced in November).

• Extra �50m for structural funds like Objective One programmes.

• Extra �500,000 for the Newport Urban Regeneration Company - a �10m organisation set up to re-train redundant Corus employees and redevelop Wales' newest city.

• �149m for trunk roads.

• �1.49m on the Education and Learning Wales training agency.

• �40.5m for a "Knowledge Exploitation Fund" (for developing ideas and skills in colleges and universities)

• �10.5m to develop golf tourism in time for the Ryder Cup 2010 at Celtic Manor.

Other assembly ministers will detail plans for spending their individual cash allocation over the next week.