Spending on health and social care to 2015-16

After the 2013 Spending Round, public spending on health care is to be scrutinised in the House of Commons. We examine the key issues underlying the debate.

Briefing

Published: 11/07/2013

Download the briefing [PDF 268.8KB]

After the 2013 Spending Round, public spending on health care is to be scrutinised in the first Estimates Day debate in the House of Commons. We examine the key issues underlying the debate.

This briefing examines the key issues underlying debates on health funding, the decisions taken on NHS spending over this Parliament and the 2015-16 Spending Round period, and the closely linked issue of spending on social care.

It aims to link these fiscal decisions to their implications for access, quality, sustainability and efficiency.

The need for savings on this scale is reflected in current savings plans up to 2015-16 and the NHS has so far achieved its headline savings targets.

The first section of the briefing examines how spending in the NHS faces upward pressure from internal factors at the same time as its budget is under downward pressures from outside, leading to a gap.

The second looks at how the Government is trying to bridge this gap and how deeper changes may be needed to achieve a long-term solution, while the third looks at the urgent situation facing social care funding in the context of the reforms contained in the Spending Round and Care Bill.

Suggested citation

Nuffield Trust (2013) Spending on health and social care to 2015-16. Briefing.

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