The Welsh Government Budget for 2012-13 was approved by the Welsh Assembly. Total planned spending was £14.7 billion.
Source: Final Budget 2012-2013: A Budget for growth and jobs, Welsh Government
Links: Budget report | Welsh Government press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Dec
A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales expressed concerns about how little room for manoeuvre there was in the Welsh Government's draft budget plans, or contingency for any overspends. It also expressed concerns about the adequacy of funding for the Welsh National Health Service.
Source: Scrutiny of Welsh Government Draft Budget Motion 2012-2013, Finance Committee, National Assembly for Wales
Links: Report | Assembly press release
Date: 2011-Nov
An audit report in Wales said that the Welsh public sector was facing 'unprecedented levels of financial pressure' – with a funding drop of 12.4 per cent (£1.9 billion) in real terms by 2014-15. At the same time, services were facing rising demand and expectations. Efficiency savings alone were unlikely to be enough to close the funding gap, particularly in the short term.
Source: Picture of Public Services 2011, Wales Audit Office
Links: Report | WAO press release | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Oct
A report (by an official advisory body) examined how much progress had been made in Wales towards integrating employment and skills, and what more needed to be done.
Source: Review of Employment and Skills: Wales Report, UK Commission for Employment and Skills
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Oct
The Welsh Government published draft spending plans for the three years 2011-12 to 2014-15. The overall budget was planned to fall by 12 per cent in real terms, with health and education spending protected relative to other areas.
Source: Draft Budget Proposals 2012-13, Welsh Government
Links: Report | Welsh Government press release | Plaid Cymru press release | WLGA press release | CIH press release | BBC report
Date: 2011-Oct
A study found that around 60,000 people in Wales would be thrown off incapacity benefits as a result of the coalition government's welfare reforms. In most of Wales the high incidence of worklessness was rooted in a shortage of jobs: welfare reform was therefore unlikely to move people into work without a commensurate increase in job opportunities.
Source: Christina Beatty and Steve Fothergill, Tackling Worklessness in Wales, Industrial Communities Alliance (Wales)
Links: Report | Sheffield Hallam University press release
Date: 2011-Jul
A paper assessed turning points in the economic cycle of Welsh unitary authorities by applying a mathematical algorithm to unemployment data. All but one unitary authority had emerged from recession, and employment in Wales would continue to grow in 2011.
Source: Marianne Sensier and Michael Artis, Tracking Unemployment in Wales Through Recession and Into Recovery, Discussion Paper 79, Spatial Economics Research Centre (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jul
A report set out the priority areas that the Welsh Assembly Government needed to address in order to close skills gaps in the economy and be responsive to future needs.
Source: Skills for Jobs: Priorities, Wales Employment and Skills Board
Links: Report | WAG press release
Date: 2011-Jul
A report set out a series of recommendations for improving planning for economic development in Wales.
Source: Roger Tym & Partners with Asbri Planning, Planning for Sustainable Economic Renewal, Welsh Assembly Government
Links: Report | WAG press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2011-Jun
A paper examined the labour market in Wales following the economic recession.
Source: Stephen Drinkwater, David Blackaby, and Phil Murphy, The Welsh Labour Market Following the Great Recession, Policy Briefing PBS/002, Wales Institute for Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (Cardiff University)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-May
A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales said that Wales could win significant additional research and development funding from the European Union if it adopted a more strategic approach to participation in the programmes concerned.
Source: Welsh Participation in EU Research, Innovation and Lifelong Learning Programmes, European and External Affairs Committee, National Assembly for Wales
Links: Report | NAW press release
Date: 2011-Feb
A research paper examined the Welsh Government's final Budget for 2011-12. It provided an overview of spending plans for 2011-12; how these compared with 2010-11; cumulative changes over the budget period (to 2013-14); and how the final Budget compared with the draft Budget.
Source: Eleanor Roy, Final Budget 2011-12, Research Paper 11/010, Welsh Assembly Government
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Feb
The Welsh Assembly Government responded to a report by an Assembly Committee on young people not in education, employment or training.
Source: Welsh Assembly Government Response to the Enterprise and Learning Committee's Recommendations in the Report: Young People not in Education, Employment or Training, Welsh Assembly Government
Links: Response
Notes: Report
Date: 2011-Jan