A decade of cuts has left a £37 billion hole in our health and education services says Labour
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New research reveals that the Tories have cut health and education
spending by £37.3 billion since 2010. The Department for
Health and Social Care (DHSC) budget has only increased by an
average of 1.5% a year since 2010/11 compared with an average of
3.3% increase that is widely acknowledged as required to keep
spending in line with demand and performance at a standstill. This
has left the NHS £23.5 billion worse off over the last decade.
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New research reveals that the Tories have cut health and education spending by £37.3 billion since 2010.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) budget has only increased by an average of 1.5% a year since 2010/11 compared with an average of 3.3% increase that is widely acknowledged as required to keep spending in line with demand and performance at a standstill. This has left the NHS £23.5 billion worse off over the last decade.
Latest figures also show that since 2010/11 education spending across the UK has been cut by £13.8 billion.
While successive Tory governments have pushed our public services into crisis, Labour will increase the DHSC budget by an average of 4.3% in real terms over the course of the next Parliament, and invest an additional £25 billion in schools over three years compared to £14 billion promised by the Conservatives.
Andrew Gwynne, Labour’s National Campaign Co-ordinator, said: “Britain’s education and health services are the cornerstones of our communities and a decade of brutal austerity has cut them to the bone, having a devastating effect on lives across the country.
“The Tories continue to lie about their future plans, misleading the public on their plans for hospitals, nurses and schools funding. The NHS is entering the worst winter crisis on record, there is a shortage of 43,000 nurses and four out of five schools are still going to be worse off next year.
“Labour will make our public services the best and most extensive in the world and deliver the real change we need.”
Notes to Editors
· The Tories have spent a decade cutting funding to our public services with dramatic impacts on people’s lives. New research shows that the Tories have left a £37.7 billion hole in education and health funding, while the IFS says the Conservatives plans have austerity “baked in”. https://www.ifs.org.uk/election/2019/manifestos 1. You cannot trust the Tories on the NHS.
Funding
· The IFS has said that to keep pace with projected demand in our health service would require a “3.3% annual growth in overall DHSC budget”.
“The NHS England day-to-day budget is set to grow by 3.3% per year in real terms between now and 2023−24. If all other components of the health budget are frozen, the total DHSC budget will grow by 2.9% per year over that period. To achieve 3.3% annual growth in overall DHSC budget over that period (to keep pace with projected demand) would require an additional £2.2 billion of spending by 2023−24, in today’s prices (an extra £2.3 billion in cash terms). To achieve 3.6% real growth (the long-run average growth rate) would require an additional £4.0 billion in today’s prices in 2023−24 (£4.3 billion in cash terms).” https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/R165-UK-health-spending1.pdf
· Using The King’s Fund figures of actual spend on DHSC, and comparing against spend if it had been increased by an average of 3.3% since 2009/10, last year the Tories underfunded the DHSC by £23.5 billion.
Labour analysis of The King’s Fund figures, https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/nhs-in-a-nutshell/nhs-budget
· In September 2019, the government’s spending round only promised an increase of 3.1% to the DHSC’s day-to-day budget next year.
“The Department of Health and Social Care’s resource budget will rise by 3.1 per cent in real terms.” Spending round 2019, 4 September 2019, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-round-2019-document
· The Health Foundation has said that the Conservative Party’s funding pledge “is below the amount needed to maintain current standards of care”.
“Labour has promised a £25bn uplift to the health care budget by 2023/24, slightly above the funding needed to deliver improved services for patients. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats £22bn uplift would see current standards maintained, while allowing for some improvements. The Conservatives have pledged £18bn extra by the end of the parliament, which is below the amount needed to maintain current standards of care.'” 29 November 2019, The Health Foundation, https://www.health.org.uk/news-and-comment/news/general-election-2019-health-and-social-care-funding-pledges-analysis
Workforce
There are now over 100,000 staff vacancies in England alone, a figure that could rise to 250,000 by 2030.
The Kings Fund, November 2018 https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/press/press-releases/staffing-shortfall-major-risk-nhs-long-term-plan · The NHS has among the lowest per capita numbers of doctors, nurses and hospital beds in the western world, according to King’s Fund analysis of OECD health data from 21 countries. Only Poland has fewer doctors and nurses than the UK, while only Canada, Denmark and Sweden have fewer hospital beds. The Kings Fund, May 2018 https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/spending-and-availability-health-care-resources · The most recent data shows over 43,000 vacancies in the registered nursing workforce in the NHS. · There are over 4500 fewer mental health nurses than there were in 2010 (~10% drop) and the number of NHS psychiatrists treating troubled children and young people is falling, despite a surge in demand among under-18s who need urgent mental health care.
NHS Digital, Workforce statistics October 2019 https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/workforce/nhs-nurse-vacancies-in-england-rise-to-more-than-43000-08-10-2019/ · One in ten consultant psychiatrist posts are vacant. Royal College of Psychiatrists, October 2019 https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/news-and-features/latest-news/detail/2019/10/03/plans-to-transform-mental-health-services-set-to-fail-if-psychiatric-roles-aren%E2%80%99t-filled-rcpsych-survey-suggests
Waiting lists
· There are currently a record 4.4 million people on the NHS waiting lists
NHS England, September 2019 data https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2019-20/
· The number of people seen within 4 hours in A&E in October 2018 fell to the lowest percentage on record. 83.6% people seen within 4 hours in A&E. This represents a 2% decrease on October 2018.
NHS England, A&E statistics https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/
· In Type 1 A&Es, just 74.5% of patients were seen within 4 hours in October 2018. This is the lowest on record and represents more than 1 in 4 patients waiting more than 4 hours in A&E.
NHS England, A&E statistics https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/
Mental Health · The NHS Mental Health Prevalence Survey found that only one in four children and young people with a mental disorder are seen by a mental health specialist. Over 400,000 children and young people are not getting any professional help at all.
NHS Digital, November 2018 https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2017/2017
The Children’s Society, June 2019 https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/news-and-blogs/press-releases/110000-children-unable-to-access-mental-health-treatment
· On average, children and young people visit their GP three times before they get a referral for a specialist assessment and wait 83 days to start treatment.
· The Royal College of Psychiatrists has calculated that over the past year patient have been placed in inappropriate out of area placements that have meant they have had to travel approximately 550,000 miles – equivalent to going around the world 22 times.
Royal College of Psychiatrists, October 2019 https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/news-and-features/latest-news/detail/2019/11/05/hundreds-more-psychiatric-beds-needed-to-help-end-practice-of-sending-patients-hundreds-of-miles-for-treatment-says-rcpsych
Social care · £7.7 billion has been taken out of local authority social care budgets since 2010.
ADASS Budget Survey, https://www.adass.org.uk/media/7295/adass-budget-survey-report-2019_final.pdf#page=9
· Last year, 1.9 million people requested social care support from their local authority, yet almost 60,000 fewer people are receiving help now than in 2015-16.
· 1.5 million older people are going without the care they need, a figure that could rise to 2.1 million by 2030 if the Government fails to act.
Age UK, November 2019 https://www.ageuk.org.uk/latest-press/articles/2019/november/the-number-of-older-people-with-some-unmet-need-for-care-now-stands-at-1.5-million/
A Labour government will: · deliver a £26 billion NHS rescue package - £6 billion more than the Tories - recruiting thousands of nurses and GPs. · overall spending on the Department of Health and Social Care budget (DHSC TDEL) will rise under Labour by an average of 4.3% per year in real terms, excluding additional funding for introducing free dentistry, prescriptions and car parking. · end the social care crisis that has left 1.5 million elderly people in across the country without the care they need, by providing free personal care to all older people who need it, and investing £10.8 billion. · unlike the Tories, deliver over 50,000 new nurses.
2. You can’t trust the Tories with education
· Total education spending has been cut by £13.8 billion in real terms since 2010/11.
IFS, 2019 annual report on education spending in England, Data Tables, figure 1.1, https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/14369
· In schools, per pupil spending has fallen by £539 in real terms.
IFS, 2019 annual report on education spending in England, Data Tables, figure 3.1, https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/14369
· Spending on further education and skills for 16 to 18 year olds has been cut by nearly £2 billion, meaning per pupil spending in further education colleges has fallen by £800 and in school sixth forms by £1,472.
IFS, 2019 annual report on education spending in England, Data Tables, figure 4.1, https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/14369
IFS, 2019 annual report on education spending in England, Data Tables, figure 4.2, https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/14369
Impact on schools
· There are now 24,958 unqualified teachers in state-funded schools – a rise of 28 per cent since 2012
DfE, School workforce in England: November 2018 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2018 DfE ,School workforce in England: November 2012 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2012
· Up to 608,975 pupils are being taught by the 25,000 unqualified teachers in state-funded schools in England.
· There are now over seven times as many ‘titan’ primary schools (those with over 800 pupils) than there were in 2010.
· The number of children crammed into these ‘titan’ primary schools has grown considerably in the last seven years, with 119,571 children currently crammed into primary schools of over 800 pupils.
DfE, Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2010 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2010 DfE, Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2019 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2019
· Labour analysis of data from the House of Commons Library shows that in 2019 there were nearly half a million (470,104) children in super-sized classes, compared to 365,150 in 2010. This is an increase of nearly a third (29%)
· The number of adults achieving a qualification in English and Maths has fallen by 40 per cent since 2011.
· In 2011 there were 633,000 adults achieving a qualification in either English, Maths or ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) but this had fallen to 418,500 in 2017/18.
· The number of adults currently learning is at its lowest point since 1996.
A Labour government will:
· Invest an additional £25 billion in schools over three years compared to £14 billion promised by the Conservatives.
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