As Rachel Reeves unveiled her inaugural budget, the resounding message was clear: bolstering the National Health Service (NHS) is the government’s utmost priority. With the health service grappling with unprecedented waiting lists and an aging population, the Chancellor emphasized raising taxes to channel funds into the strained system. However, while the NHS received a much-needed lifeline, other crucial sectors found themselves cast adrift, feeling the budget was a missed opportunity to confront looming crises and implement long-overdue reforms.
Social Care: A System on the Brink
Experts have long cautioned that mending the NHS is an uphill battle without addressing the escalating social care crisis. Local authorities across England and Wales are buckling under the weight of meager budgets and chronic staff shortages. The £600 million injection for social care, while acknowledged by the Local Government Association as a step forward, is merely a drop in the ocean, insufficient to alleviate the substantial pressures in adult and children’s social care and homelessness support.
The Health Foundation think tank expressed disappointment at the “continued silence on wider social care reform,” emphasizing that a comprehensive overhaul of the system is imperative for long-term sustainability. Moreover, the sector faces a double blow from the government’s hike in employer National Insurance contributions, prompting the Liberal Democrats to call for exempting social care from this increase.
Child Poverty: A Growing Blight
One of the most pressing demands from Labour MPs has been the reversal of the UK-wide two-child benefit limit, a significant contributor to child poverty. Despite privately harboring the desire to make this change, Reeves made no mention of such an ambition in her budget speech. Campaigners had hoped for a more substantial focus on lifting children out of poverty, akin to the initiatives championed by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The Chancellor’s speech scarcely touched upon child poverty, barring a fleeting reference to the impact of reducing overpayment recoveries from Universal Credit. The SNP urged the Labour government to take “emergency action” to combat child poverty, while the Resolution Foundation warned that an additional 63,000 children would be ensnared by the two-child benefit cap come April.
Mental Health: A Silent Epidemic
Mental health charities operating in England and Wales expressed their dissatisfaction with the budget. Dr. Sarah Hughes, chief executive of Mind, lamented that it had “not delivered the changes needed to help create a mentally healthier nation.” Although the budget outlined funding for mental health crisis centers, the charity emphasized the need for more proactive measures to prevent individuals from reaching crisis point in the first place.
Mental health accounts for 20% of all ill health but only gets 10% of NHS spend.
– Dr. Sarah Hughes, CEO of Mind
The sector also voiced concerns about cuts to sickness benefits, as rising costs have been partly driven by deteriorating mental health. The government has yet to provide details on potential changes to these benefits.
Universities: Reforms on Hold
In the lead-up to the budget, there was widespread speculation that the government planned to green-light an increase in tuition fees or reform the system in England. However, these anticipated changes failed to materialize. The figures implied that institutions would be permitted to raise fees in line with inflation from next year, providing some respite to university chancellors. Nevertheless, universities will have to grapple with higher National Insurance bills.
It appears that broader reforms will have to wait, despite the sector being on “Sue’s shit list” – a supposed risk register compiled by former chief of staff Sue Gray before the election, highlighting potential crises in the early months of a Labour government. Universities are grappling with concerns over their funding situation, as inflation has soared while tuition fees have remained frozen for an extended period. There have been long-standing warnings that individual institutions could face bankruptcy.
Housing: A Crisis Left Unaddressed
Some charities had been advocating for the government to unfreeze the Local Housing Allowance across the UK, which determines housing benefit levels. However, the Chancellor did not acquiesce to these requests. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation argued that private renters would “feel let down by the choice to keep local housing allowance frozen,” meaning it would fall further behind soaring local rent levels.
Reintroducing the freeze on local housing allowance is deeply disappointing for the hundreds of thousands of families struggling in temporary housing or facing eviction.
– Women’s Budget Group
The Women’s Budget Group highlighted that the cost of private renting has been skyrocketing, consuming an ever-larger portion of women’s incomes. The average rent for a one-bedroom property in England now devours 47% of a woman’s median earnings, a sharp increase from 36% last year. In contrast, men spend 34% of their median earnings on rent, up from 26%.
As Rachel Reeves’s inaugural budget placed the NHS at the forefront, other vital sectors found themselves grappling with a sense of neglect. Social care, child poverty, mental health, universities, and housing – all areas crying out for urgent attention and reform – were left wondering when their moment in the spotlight would arrive. The budget’s tunnel vision on health has left a bitter aftertaste, as experts warn that failing to address these interconnected issues could undermine the very foundation of the government’s NHS strategy. Only time will tell if these overlooked sectors will receive the attention they so desperately need, or if they will continue to languish in the shadows of political priorities.
