Election briefing: NHS and social care funding Three unavoidable challenges
May 2017

Key points
- Social care needs immediate attention from an incoming government. Despite the extra money allocated to social care in the spring budget, the current system is severely under-funded and unaffordable for people on low incomes who are ineligible for free care.
-
Funding for the NHS in England needs to increase in the next two years to protect access to care and the quality of services for patients.
- Beyond 2020, the pace of funding growth for the NHS and social care system will need to accelerate, taking a greater share of GDP.
-
The briefing also calls for an independent financial body for the NHS to be established, similar to the OBR, to lay out the long-term financial outlook for health and social care, as recommended by the House of Lords’ committee on sustainability.
This is one of three Health Foundation briefings ahead of the June 2017 General Election, and focuses on NHS and social care finances. It aims to clarify the debate on three main challenges:
- Funding and social care: how big a problem is it?
- Funding and the NHS: are two years of famine ahead?
- Funding for social care and the NHS: how much might be needed beyond 2020?
We summarise the evidence and offer commentary on the options that need to be considered if both of these essential services are to meet the public’s needs in the future.
Further reading
Briefing
Election briefing: Quality of care in the English NHS
This is second of three Health Foundation briefings ahead of the 2017 General Election
Briefing
Election briefing: A sustainable workforce
The third and final Health Foundation briefing ahead of the 2017 General Election considers the...
You might also like...
Podcast
Reforming health care: reflections from a former health minister – with Lord Norman Warner
Episode 20. The NHS is experiencing an unusual set of pressures at the moment. Lord Norman Warner...
Blog
Ministers should be wary of declaring war on the NHS
Dr Jennifer Dixon argues that history shows that further radical reform is unlikely to fix the...
Newsletter feature
Helping the NHS understand what works
Arne Wolters tells us about the IAU’s model of rapid and robust evaluation and their plans to spread...
Get social
Health Foundation @HealthFdn
With general practice facing unprecedented pressures, Fuller’s recommendations will do little to improve the immedi… https://t.co/wABrlIk5dE
Follow us on TwitterWork with us
We look for talented and passionate individuals as everyone at the Health Foundation has an important role to play.
View current vacanciesThe Q community
Q is an initiative connecting people with improvement expertise across the UK.
Find out more