The NHS is set to be one of the big winners in next week’s spending review, with a boost of up to £30bn at the expense of other public services.
The Department for Health and Social Care is set to get the biggest settlement in the government’s spending review next week, while other areas will face cuts.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will argue that Labour is investing in health, security and the economy, according to The Times.
Under the review, the Department of Health’s day-to-day budget is expected to increase by 2.8 per cent annually over three years. This equates to a cash increase of £30bn by 2028, or £17bn in real terms. However, the department’s capital spending budget is expected to rise only in line with inflation..
Reeves will put £113bn a year extra in infrastructure spending for projects designed to grow the economy, such as the Sizewell C nuclear power plant and a new generation of mini reactors.
Bringing down NHS waiting times was one of Labour's key commitments. Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to ensure that by the next election, 92 per cent of patients in England waiting for planned treatment are seen within 18 weeks of being referred.
Latest NHS data suggests around 60 per cent of people are currently treated within that timeframe. Figures released last month showed the overall number of patients on waiting lists had risen slightly, from 6.24 million to 6.25 million.
Meanwhile, to meet tough financial savings targets this year and reduce the NHS its deficit by around £6.5bn, hospital leaders have warned they’re being forced to make cuts to frontline services.
The NHS received £3.1bn in additional capital investment in the 2024 Budget. However, health leaders warned this was short of the £6.4bn a year needed for the NHS to meet its productivity target of 2 per cent a year.
A recent analysis by The Nuffield Trust shows that since taking office, Labour has set healthcare spending to grow at 2.9 per cent for 2024-25 and 2025-26. Between 2011 and 2023-24, budgets grew at 2.4 per cent.
For 2025-25, £1.5bn of the additional funding for the NHS is due to cover the costs of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions. According to the Nuffield Trust, this means real-terms spending growth for that year will be below 2 per cent.
Following the autumn budget, £22.6bn extra was allocated to the DHSC. However, this will be absorbed by spending pressures such as inflation and meeting waiting times targets.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, told The Times that without big changes to the way the health service treats patients, the funding increase “is not going to enable us to achieve recovery and reform”.
“Without additional capital investment, either traditional or through the private sector, I just don’t think it’s possible to combine recovery and reform,” he said.
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