NHS budget sees increase

The 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review has outlined a three year settlement for the Department of Health which will see an increase in the NHS budget by four per cent a year.

NHS funding is now expected to reach ?110 billion by 2011 with the settlement coming in to line with measures set out in the interim report of Lord Darzi’s review.

The settlement also sees an increase in spending on adult social care with overall local authority funding increasing to ?2.6 billion by 2010-2011.

Direct funding for social care for older people and support services for carers will also increase, with an extra ?190 million confirmed to take the amount of spending on social care to ?1.5 billion.

Health secretary Alan Johnson welcomed the settlement, stating that it was good for both health and social care.

“Over the last decade we have invested to increase the capacity of the NHS so that the service is able to treat more people more quickly. This settlement locks in that record investment and provides for additional real term growth,” he indicated.

The settlement follows the release of the interim report on the future of the NHS which pledged better access to GPs for patients.