Health and social care organisations have welcomed the funding for the NHS announced in the Spending Review but are awaiting more details about the forthcoming 10-year health plan and the fair pay agreement for social care workers to see if resources and funding are properly allocated to fully support the health and social care sector.
On 11 June 2025, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves presented the Spending Review to Parliament.
Among some of the headline announcements were a £29 billion real terms increase in annual NHS day‑to‑day spending, a £10 billion investment in the NHS technology budget, a fair pay agreement for the social care sector, and £4 billion funding for the adult social care sector.
The BHTA, Leonard Cheshire, RCOT, The King’s Fund, and Social-Ability have responded to the Spending Review.
UK Policy and Public Affairs Manager at the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT), Joseph Brunwin, responded: “The increased spending on the NHS and education announced today, coupled with reforming public services with a focus on prevention, has the potential to support delivery of our workforce strategy vision for an occupational therapy workforce primarily based in communities and focused on prevention and early intervention.
“However, we need more details. We’re still waiting for the revised long-term workforce plan, the 10-year Health Plan and the SEND white paper. Until we have these, we can’t know how occupational therapists will be affected and what support and resources will be provided to them to allow them to do their jobs properly.
“Occupational therapists are central to a system focused on prevention. Resources must be used correctly and occupational therapists placed where they’re needed most to help reduce pressures on other areas of the NHS, help keep people out of A&E, and ultimately save money.”
David Stockdale, Chief Executive of the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA), reacted: “This is a good step in the right direction, but we’re awaiting the NHS 10-year plan update, and forthcoming industrial strategy, to see how it all aligns. Our industry urgently needs more funding to support the long-term vision for patient care.”
John Ramsay, Founder and Managing Director of Social-Ability, added: “On behalf of the social care sector, I’m once again disappointed by the Government’s lack of focus and meaningful reform. Shocked? No.
“The first-ever fair pay agreement is a step forward—but nowhere near far enough to fix a broken care system. Despite Rachel Reeves calling social care fundamental to healthcare and multiple mentions of Carers Week during Prime Minister’s Questions, there’s still no clear plan or reform programme. The spotlight remains firmly on the NHS.
“Investment in the NHS alone won’t fix the problem. Without proper support for care homes and staff, people’s wellbeing will deteriorate, and pressure on hospitals will become unbearable. Social care cannot be an afterthought in the future NHS—it must be central.”
Amy Little, Head of Advocacy at Leonard Cheshire, said: “The Chancellor backed a Fair Pay Agreement for social care workers. Yet it is not clear if the Fair Pay Agreement has enough funding or when it will see the light of day.
“Social care providers are still reeling from the rise in employer National Insurance. Government funding must soon reach the pockets of our essential social care workforce. Without enough social care workers, disabled people will miss out on vital support to live their lives as they choose.”
Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King’s Fund, commented: “Despite the tough economic climate, the government has prioritised health services by continuing to increase spending on the NHS for the rest of this parliament. A 2.8 percent average increase in total health department spending – three percent for day-to-day NHS spending – will have been hard fought for in the spending round negotiations, despite still being lower than the historical average the NHS has received over recent years. A key challenge now will be for the NHS to decide how it can deliver most value from the money that has been allocated.
“We know there are already trade-offs happening in the NHS due to tight finances. The Chancellor said she wants the public to have ‘an NHS there when they need it’. It is hard to see how all the things she mentions – faster ambulance times, more GP appointments, adequate mental health services, and more – can be met by this settlement alone, particularly when large parts of this additional funding will be absorbed by rising costs, such as the higher cost of medicines which are currently being negotiated, and staff pay deals. But the government’s upcoming 10-year plan for health offers a huge opportunity, so we will wait to see how this money will be translated into better, more efficient services.
“The three shifts in the upcoming plan are the right ones – preventing ill health sooner, more care into the community, and analogue to digital – and it is good to see the constancy of purpose by having these strategic shifts reconfirmed in today’s commitments. However, while it is signalling all the right priorities, this is a spending review that raises some questions rather than providing definitive answers.
“The Chancellor has made some welcome steps to protect capital investment and set out budgets over longer time periods. But while capital budgets are being shown to increase, they do so by nowhere near enough to rebuild or replace the tired facilities and equipment on which large parts of the NHS currently rely, nor to develop the new hospitals and community facilities needed to deliver a modernised health service.
“We welcome a firm commitment to introducing a Fair Pay Agreement for social care workers – a measure to incentivise people to work in social care that can’t come soon enough given the government has already restricted overseas recruitment. But there is worryingly little detail on how much this will cost and whether it will come out of the relatively small amount of additional funding announced for social care, which would leave little left for other fundamental improvements to our ailing system.
“The NHS has faced financial pressure for more than a decade, but the signals of financial distress across the NHS have grown in recent years. This matters because financial pressures absolutely have an impact on the care patients and the public receive.
“Today’s announcements show how much the government is willing to spend on the health service, but the real prize will be the vision of a better and more sustainable health care service that will be set out in the forthcoming 10 Year Health Plan.”
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