The National Health Service in Wales is set to benefit from the extra billions which Chancellor Gordon Brown has outlined in his Budget to the House of Commons.

As predicted, the Chancellor has announced a substantial increase in spending on the NHS - a rise of 10% year-on-year to be paid for by National Insurance contributions - in addition to an existing 10% rise.

The Chancellor said decisions taken now would effect the NHS for years

The first year alone should see Wales receiving around �60m as its share of the extra cash under the Barnett Formula, the system which determines how much money is given to the home countries.

The extra money the assembly is expected to be able to allocate in the following years is: 2003/4, �128m more; 2004/5, �365m more; 2005/6, �414m more; 2006/7, �441m more; 2007/8, �452m more.

The Chancellor told a packed House of Commons that spending on the service would double in five years under Labour with National Insurance payments rising by 1% on all earnings above �4,600.

He said the extra money for the NHS would come hand-in-hand with more scrutiny of how it was spent.

But experts warn that even though the Chancellor has announced extra cash for the health service, it should not be seen as a quick solution.

The Welsh NHS Confederation - which represents health service management - said the additional money was "very welcome".

Director Richard Thomas said it is a recognition that there has been "decades of under-investment in the NHS".

But he said it is also important to remember that the new money has to be invested in the training of additional staff and providing new facilities and this cannot happen overnight.

He gave the example of the 12 years needed to train a consultant.

It is estimated that reshaping the NHS into a service which meets people's needs could take as long as 10 years.

The Welsh Assembly is already spending �3.4bn on health this year, which is due to rise to �3.7bn next year.

The Budget money would be a boost to the NHS, but there are concerns among MPs about the way the money is spent.

Health spending is �1,166 per head - higher than in England - but extra cash in recent years has failed to have a dramatic effect on waiting lists.

Burden eased

Observers had feared the NI increases would force middle-earners to pay more, but they are likely to be relieved that the rise is more limited than expected.

It is the first time that the tax has been increased in a generation, and is being billed as the biggest political gamble of Mr Brown's career.

Elsewhere, the duty on duty on beer and spirits as is the levy on petrol, although this latter move has left National Farmers Union leader Hugh Richards unimpressed on how this will benefit agriculture.

He said: "It's an industry that can't carry on with the costs that have been heaped on it, and here we are with little sympathy."