This year’s Spending Review outlined:
- NHS spending will increase by 3% a year, which is more than was expected.
- The Chancellor noted the government’s three shifts – community, digital and prevention.
- On digital, she said the NHS tech budget would increase by 50% and £10 million would be invested in digital including the NHS app.
- On community, she noted work underway to shift care into the community through the recruitment of thousands of GPs.
- On prevention, she spoke about the government’s support for mental health teams in schools.
- £555m of spending over three years for children’s social care.
- The expansion of free school meals to all children in receipt of Universal Credit.
- The continuation of the roll-out of breakfast clubs across the country.
- Schools budget will increase by up to £4.5bn per year.
RCPCH President, Professor Steve Turner, said:
I’m pleased to see a much-needed cash injection into the NHS and welcome our Government’s recognition of the importance of prevention and community-based care. Knowing that investment in child health services lags behind adult services, a successful shift requires the health system to allocate this funding equitably between them. This is also true in the devolved nations where we hope today's allocations will be used to support children's health.
The announcement on free school meals is a step in the right direction, but as paediatricians we continue to call for greater ambition to tackle child poverty, which has untold harms on the health and wellbeing of children. This ambition must include scrapping the two-child limit, which continues to push many families into hardship.