Reflecting on the Autumn budget

0​7 October 2024

b​y Alyson Scurfield - Chief Executive, TSA

As the dust settles on the chancellor’s Autumn budget, I wanted to reflect on what it means for our TEC sector.

We’ve all seen the headlines:

• An additional £22.6bn for Department of Health and Social Care day-to-day spending.
• Just £600m for social care (despite the Local Government Association predicting councils will face £3.4bn in extra social care pressures next year)
• A welcome increase to the Carer’s Allowance weekly earnings limit, helping more carers to balance caring responsibilities with work.
• Increases to employers’ National Insurance and the minimum wage, hitting many care providers and threatening to soak up any new social care grant funding.
  

Although the meagre £600m social care investment highlights the inequality between health and care, along with an absence of any long term, sustainable social care reform, I want to highlight some green shoots of opportunity.

We’re seeing strong signals that digital technology is central to how Labour envisions the health and care future.

The Budget outlined a commitment to "a mission-led, technology-enabled, and reform-driven settlement for public services”, highlighting the integration of advanced technologies in public service delivery.

There was a focus on reducing healthcare costs and waiting times through expanded digital infrastructure and technology-enabled solutions.

Over £2bn of investment was announced for NHS technology and digital with a focus on enhancing patient access, increasing staff productivity and utilising electronic health records. And £520m was allocated for a Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund.

We also know that as the Government consults on and reimagines the future of the NHS (their 10-year health plan will be announced in Spring 2025), they want to achieve three ‘big shifts’ for the NHS:

1. Moving care from hospitals to the community
2. Shifting services from analogue to digital
3. Moving away from treating sickness to prevention

I believe the innovation and hands on experience in the TEC sector means we are uniquely placed to contribute to these shifts and support the Government in delivering their Budget priorities.

We know that:

• Digital TEC keeps people out of hospital, in their own homes

• Digital TEC opens the door to preventative, early support

• Digital TEC gives peace of mind to unpaid carers

• Digital TEC supports workforce productivity and retention

• Digital TEC empowers older and disabled people to live good lives

So, I urge you, our brilliant sector, to share your stories, insights and results, demonstrating how TEC can support the Government as they build a National Care Service fit for the future.