REACTION: “Deeply disappointing” that social care was absent from the Spring Statement, sector responds

The health and social care sector has reacted to the Spring Statement 2025, which has been dubbed as “worrying” and “unsustainable” because no new funding was announced for the NHS or social care.

Presented annually by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Spring Statement delivers the UK Government’s spending plans and the economic outlook for the financial year ahead.

Leading health and social care organisations, Leonard Cheshire, the Health Foundation, ADASS, and the BHTA, are concerned about the impacts of the Spring Statement 2025 on people’s health.

Amy Little, Head of Advocacy at Leonard Cheshire, said that the statement confirms the organisation’s fears that the UK Government’s welfare reforms are budget driven.

Amy reacted: “Today’s announcement gives little spring cheer for disabled people. It still leaves social care chronically underfunded and increases the extent of proposed cuts to disability benefits.

“The Chancellor confirmed our fears that the welfare reforms are budget-driven, rather than the truly ground-breaking positive reform we all want to see.

“An equality impact assessment, published by the Government today, projects one in five disabled households will be worse off by an average of £1,720 per year because of the benefits cuts.

“If the Government is serious about disabled people, it must remove barriers and not lifelines. The Government must get this right before welfare changes are introduced in 2026. We’ll work with disabled people, scrutinising the details and the many unknowns that are causing anxiety.”

Dame Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation, echoed Amy’s thoughts that the statement will leave families worse off, which will negatively impact people’s health and ability to work.

Dame Dixon responded: “The fiscal outlook requires difficult choices, but the decisions taken in today’s Spring Statement will hit some of the most vulnerable people the hardest and risk damaging the nation’s health and future prosperity.

“Reforms to the welfare system include proposals to cut and freeze the health element of Universal Credit and restrict eligibility for Personal Independence Payments. The government’s own impact assessment projects that this will leave 3.2m families worse off and 250,000 more people in relative poverty by 2029/30, which can further erode their health and ability to work.

“It is important to support more people to stay in work and reduce economic inactivity through fundamental reforms to improve health. Welcome measures in last week’s welfare reform green paper aiming to prevent people from being forced to leave employment due to ill health risk being undermined by cuts to benefits that will leave many people worse off, in worse health and less able to return to work.

“On the NHS, the Chancellor highlighted improvements in reducing waiting lists. The focus now shifts to the Spending Review and the long-term reforms that will be set out in the forthcoming 10-year-Health Plan. However, swingeing cuts to NHS bodies, including the abolition of NHS England, will cause huge disruption at a critical point. It’s not too late for the government to step back from the brink and find a less disruptive way of achieving their objectives than embarking on a distracting top-down reorganisation of the NHS.

“Social care was notable by its absence from the Chancellor’s speech. It is deeply disappointing that calls to support the sector with the additional costs of increases in National Insurance contributions and the National Minimum Wage have largely been ignored. This will heap further pressure on a struggling sector and risks reducing people’s access to publicly funded care. The Social Care Commission’s work to develop a long term plan for reforming social care cannot come soon enough.”

Melanie Williams, President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), agreed that the lack of funding for councils to offset the rises in National Insurance Contributions and National Living Wage puts social care under massive pressure.

“We had hoped for recognition from the Government that the rise in employer NICs and National Living Wage is unsustainable without additional funding for councils who face a £1.2bn shortfall in providing care and support to older and disabled people,” said Melanie.

“Good social care for people with complex health needs is the only way to reduce pressure on our hospitals and realise the Government’s aim to shift to more community support and prevention. The cost of care is rising just as more people need this support, so we look forward to seeing investment in adult social care included in the Spending Review, and an acknowledgement that prioritising adult social care and investing in early care and support can improve outcomes for people and in turn, save the Government money in the long run.

“The Health and Social Care Secretary recently said money committed to the NHS will be moved into adult social care and we trust this will provide, at least in part, a solution to the chronic underfunding of adult social care.”

David Stockdale, Chief Executive of the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA), commented that the Spring Statement leaves healthcare equipment and assistive technology providers in a “worryingly economically uncertain position”.

“No new funding for the health and care sector, NHS England being abolished, and businesses having to pay increased employer National Insurance Contributions from next month lead to a worryingly economically uncertain position for our members,” David stated.

“We have already expressed major concerns over the employer NIC hike and the impact this will have on our members. Many of our members are SMEs that are tied to fixed-price contracts with NHS suppliers and local authorities, and rising business costs could make them completely unsustainable.

“Pair this with no new funding for the NHS and social care as well as the procurement landscape set to change with the abolishment of NHS England and it means BHTA members are operating in an unstable landscape.

“We’re calling on the government to provide clarity on what will happen to NHS Supply Chain and procurement more broadly as well as provide funding for healthcare equipment providers to ensure that essential services are not decimated and people can continue getting the vital products they need.”