UK spending review: health and social care boost ‘positive’ but lacks detail

Rachel Soundy, healthcare expert at Pinsent Masons, was commenting following the health and social announcements within the UK government’s spending review. The announcement, made by chancellor Rachel Reeves, promises reforms aimed at modernising healthcare delivery, expanding the workforce, and laying the groundwork for a planned 10-year health strategy.

Under the new plans, NHS England will see its budget rise by 3% annually over the next three years, to reach an expected £226 billion by 2029, with a renewed focus on cutting waiting lists and modernising infrastructure.

Another component of the funding package is a near 50% increase in the NHS technology and digital transformation budget, with up to £10bn allocated to modernise systems, improve data sharing, and enhance patient access to services. This includes the expansion of digital appointment booking, AI-assisted diagnostics, and integrated care records, according to the spending review paper.

Soundy said: “The focus of funding towards digital transformation in the NHS is welcome, but new technological solutions – and any required upskilling of staff – will be take time to implement within NHS bodies. Improving patient access to digital tools should also not come at the cost of excluding ‘digitally disadvantaged’ people from accessing vital healthcare services – whether because of their age, vulnerable characteristics or language or cost barriers, for example. This is an area where technology companies and consultancies in the private sector may be able to offer their support to the NHS."

The spending review document also pledges greater investment in general practice, with plans to train thousands more GPs by 2028-29 in a bid to boost appointment availability. The government said this would help shift care back into communities and reduce pressure on hospitals. The government also confirmed that a “comprehensive” 10-year health plan will be published later this year, setting out long term goals for workforce development, service integration and health outcomes.

Social care will also benefit from increased investment, with the review setting out plans for an increase of over £4 billion available for adult social care in 2028-29 compared to 2025-26.

However, while the funding has been welcomed, caution remains over its long-term impact.

“The additional money earmarked for local government is also welcome, though it is not clear how much of that money will be available to increase social care provision across the country to meet unmet demand – too much of a burden currently continues to fall on unpaid carers,” said Soundy.

“Overall, the care sector is still grappling with how to address a skills crisis amidst a tightening of UK immigration rules and workers’ perception of low pay on offer. Planned changes to employment laws in Britain, to enable negotiation of a ‘fair pay agreement’ for social care workers, could prove to be an important policy intervention in this regard, though providers will be keen to ensure that any agreement struck is affordable,” she said.