Autumn Statement: NHS budget slashed by £5bn next year

EMBARGO: For Immediate Release

The Conservative Government is cutting annual NHS spending by almost £5 billion in real-terms, figures buried in the small print of today’s Autumn Statement have revealed.

Jeremy Hunt has cut day-to-day spending in cash terms for NHS England in 2024-25 from £165.9bn in his March Budget to £162.5bn in the Autumn Statement, a cut of £3.4 billion.

In real-terms, that will leave the NHS budget £4.7 billion (2.9%) lower compared to 2022-23. It comes despite the Conservative government handing £3.8bn a year of tax cuts to the banks.

Jeremy Hunt also failed to mention GPs, dentists or ambulances once in his Autumn Statement today, despite the crisis facing patients and local health services across the country.

Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP:

“It beggars belief that this Conservative government is slashing funding for the NHS while giving billions of pounds of tax giveaways to the banks. It just shows they have got their priorities completely wrong. 

“Jeremy Hunt failed to mention GPs, dentists or ambulances once in his Autumn Statement, showing just how out of touch he is.

“Patients around the country are waiting months in pain for treatment and weeks to get an appointment with their GP. You can’t fix the damage the Conservative Party has done to our economy without fixing the damage they have done to our NHS.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor

NHS England day-to-day spending: March Budget 2023 vs Autumn Statement 2023 (£bn, current prices)

Resource Departmental Expenditure Limits excluding depreciation

Spring Budget 2023 figures in Table 2.1 here.

Autumn Statement 2023 figures in Table 2.1 here.

Real-terms NHS England day-to-day spending in Autumn Statement 2023 (£bn)