NHS receives budget increase in Spending Review

The government has confirmed that the NHS will receive a small budget increase in 2015-16, in line with the post-election terms of the coalition agreement.

In his latest Spending Review, chancellor George Osborne revealed that the Department of Health's (DH's) headline resource budget will rise from 108.34 billion pounds in 2014-15 to 110.37 billion pounds – an increase of 2.1 billion pounds, or 0.1 percent in real terms.

One of the key changes announced in the review was the launch of a 3.8 billion pooled health and social care budget, which aims to ensure that patients receive integrated and seamless care.

The DH capital budget, which is spent on health infrastructure, will also rise slightly from 4.65 billion pounds to 4.74 billion pounds.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said the move will ensure that the government will be able to make progress in "making joined-up services the norm, not the exception".

However, the British Medical Association delivered a less optimistic verdict, stating: "Although the NHS budget in England has been protected, this does not allow for keeping pace with new treatments, an ageing population and rising demand."