Health Committee report: Impact of the Spending Review on health and social care.
Chair's comments on NHS funding
Committee Chair Dr Sarah Wollaston MP said:
"Whilst the NHS has been treated favourably compared to many other departments, the increase in health funding is less than was promised if assessed by the usual definitions.
Funding cuts to public health will make it more difficult to address the challenge set out by the Prime Minister to reduce health inequality.
The cuts to public health undermine the radical upgrade to prevention that is needed to keep people healthy, reduce the gap in life expectancy and years lived in poor health for the most disadvantaged, and reduce demand on the health service. Cutting public health is a false economy, creating avoidable additional costs in the future."
Chair's comments on social care funding
"Historical cuts to social care funding have now exhausted the opportunities for significant further efficiencies in this area. Increasing numbers of people with genuine social care needs are no longer receiving the care they need because of a lack of funding. This not only causes considerable distress to these individuals and their families but results in additional costs to the NHS. We are concerned about the effect of additional funding streams for social care not arriving until later in the Parliament.
We welcome the plans for additional funding for mental health but there is a danger that this could get sucked into deficits in the acute sector particularly as there is a lack of accurate data on mental health spending. We expect to see clear, verifiable evidence that the additional funding promised for mental health is being delivered to the front line if we are to make progress towards parity of esteem."