'New charges' warning for public services, says Sue Essex New ways to pay for services may need to be found in dealing with looming cuts to public spending, said former Welsh government finance minister Sue Essex. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said this week that Cardiff Bay is facing a huge budget black hole in the next few years, putting extreme pressure on health and social care services. Sue Essex, who was finance minister before her departure from Welsh politics in 2007, told BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement that the government may need to consider charges for some services. She spoke to Vaughan Roderick. £1.5bn Welsh budget cuts warning