AUTUMN STATEMENT 2022: Health and social care leaders react to government’s funding plans

Following last week’s Autumn Statement 2022 announcement by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt about the UK Government’s tax and spending plans for the year ahead, health and social care experts have provided mixed responses.

Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), Health Foundation, Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT), NHS Confederation, County Councils Network (CCN), and NHS England have all weighed in on spending plans for the health and social care sector.

Some of the key announcements from the Autumn Statement 2022 included:

• Funding for the NHS and social care is being increased by up to £8 billion in 2024-25
• £600 million will be distributed in 2023-24 and £1 billion in 2024-25 through the Better Care Fund to get people out of hospital on time into care settings
• The adult social care charging reform has been delayed by two years to October 2025
• Councils have been given more flexibility to raise council tax from April 2023

However, sector experts have provided a mixed bag of responses, with some believing that the funding announcements are welcome and will help get the NHS and social care services back on track and others criticising the social care charging reform delays and believing that the funding only scratches the surface of the sector’s issues.

NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard responded positively to this year’s statement, commenting: “When the government – and the country – face such a daunting set of challenges, we welcome the chancellor’s decision to prioritise the NHS with funding to address rising cost pressures and help staff deliver the best possible care for patients. This shows the government has been serious about its commitment to prioritise the NHS.

“The NHS is already one of the most efficient health services in the world and we are committed to delivering further efficiencies, with over £5 billion already freed up for reinvestment in patient care this year.

“NHS staff are delivering a huge amount in the face of record demand with 10% more GP appointments than before Covid, an extra 35 million in a year, more support than ever for peoples’ mental health and the highest level of cancer checks while transforming peoples’ lives with innovative treatments such as laser therapy for epilepsy and genetic testing for sick babies and children.

“While I am under no illusions that NHS staff face very testing times ahead, particularly over winter, this settlement should provide sufficient funding for the NHS to fulfill its key priorities. As ever, we will act with determination to ensure every penny of investment delivers for patients.”

On a first reaction, ADASS similarly responded positively to the Autumn Statement 2022, mentioning that it provides some “welcome relief” to the social care sector.

Sarah McClinton, ADASS President, and Cathie Williams, ADASS Chief Executive, commented: “We still need to read the small print, but with tens of thousands waiting for care and support, unpaid carers breaking down and staff quitting in droves, today’s announcement appears to provide some welcome relief and lessen some of the impact of the current crises ahead of what promises to be the most difficult winter any of us can remember.

“The next step is to develop a long-term, fully funded plan that provides the right support for older and disabled people, and unpaid carers, together with an adult social care workforce plan that complements the one for the NHS.”

In contrast, Dr Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation, pointed out some flaws with the Autumn Statement. She acknowledged that while the funding will provide some short-term respite for the overstretched system, it fails to tackle the underlying issues facing the system.

Dr Dixon remarked: “While the NHS and social care have been offered some protection to 2025, most other public services still face significant real terms cuts. This, alongside falling living standards and rising unemployment, will only worsen the health of the population.

“Additional funding for social care is welcome but after more than a decade of austerity will do little more than paper over the cracks of a broken system. And by shelving the planned changes to introduce a cap on care costs first recommended by the Dilnot Commission more than a decade ago, this government becomes the latest to break its promise to deliver the long-term reforms needed to improve the system.

“The government has chosen to prolong a major public policy failure that leaves older and disabled people without the care they need and many facing catastrophic costs.”

She also pointed out that while the additional NHS funding will help ease some pressures, years of underfunding have left staff exhausted and services at “breaking point”. Dr Dixon said that the overall level of funding is not enough to address the NHS backlog and rising demand for services.

She continued: “Looking to the future, a new approach is needed that recognises the link between our health and wealth as a nation, provides the investment needed to improve public services, lowers the risk of chronic ill health for the most vulnerable, and reduces growing inequality.”

Similar to the Health Foundation, RCOT believes that while the extra NHS funding is a welcome announcement, it will only deal with top priorities rather than tackling the heart of the service’s issues.

Steve Ford, RCOT Chief Executive, added: “We are glad to see that the Chancellor has reaffirmed his commitment for a workforce plan, to include independently verified projections for staff numbers over the next 15 years. We will continue to campaign with partners for further funding and resources to ensure this workplan is sustainable.

“Social Care has once again received a sticking plaster of support. Last year, there was some hope for a plan to support the sector in its recovery from COVID, but the government continues to kick the can down the road on social care reform, putting the most vulnerable people in our communities at risk.

“Although we do welcome the new discharge fund to help reduce pressures on the NHS, it will do little to alleviate the workforce crisis and backlog for social care.”

Interestingly, unlike the Health Foundation, which felt that shelving the social care charging reform was the wrong choice and will leave people facing “catastrophic” care costs, CCN believes that this delay is the right choice.

Cllr Tim Oliver, CCN Chairman, explained: “The County Councils Network has been clear that its member councils face unsustainable pressures: with inflation and demand adding £3.5bn to their costs, we have called on the government to postpone the forthcoming adult social care reforms so funding earmarked for those changes can be reinvested in into stabilising care services that are creaking at the seams, as well as further support for vital services.

“Today’s confirmation that these reforms for adult social care will be delayed is a brave decision but completely the right one.

“We understand that many will be disappointed but postponing these reforms and reinvesting significant additional funding into frontline care services is strongly welcomed and will protect the most vulnerable in our society as well as buy councils vital time to stabilise the care system. This will go a long way to enable us to address existing pressures, commission more care packages, and ensure that the reforms are a success on day one of their introduction in 2025.

“The government must ensure that as much of this additional funding as possible is distributed directly to councils, who will work tirelessly with their health partners to speed up hospital discharge.”

Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, felt that the Autumn Statement 2022 delivered positive news for the NHS, which will help plug some of the funding gap that has built up because of “soaring” inflation and other pressures. He said that the funding will help tackle lengthening waiting lists and get performance “back on track”.

Matthew continued: ““What is clear from today’s settlement is that the government has listened to NHS leaders. The Chancellor’s announcement that the government will commit to publishing an independent workforce plan for the NHS is something NHS leaders have long been calling for. It’s vital to ensuring we start to fill the 132,000 vacancies that we’ve currently got.

“NHS leaders will also welcome the government’s commitment to an increase in social care funding – this will buy extra packages of care that will help relieve some of the pressures on services.”

However, the chief executive agreed with the Health Foundation about the social care charging reforming delay, describing this decision as “regrettable”.