NHS One, Social Care Nil

As part of the Autumn Statement yesterday, the Chancellor George Osborne announced that there will be an extra £2 billion every year until 2020 for the NHS.

A positive step forward of course, but we all know very well that more money here, means less money elsewhere.

Mr Osborne's pledge came after NHS England bosses warned of a need for extra funding this year, to cope with immediate pressure on NHS budgets. This was backed by Norman Lamb, the Lib Dem Care Minister.

Mr Osborne told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show that he could make the commitment because the economy was strong. If the Conservatives remain in Government after the general election, Osborne has pledged to commit billions more to modernising the NHS.

However, in spite of this further investment, the Chancellor showed restraint on pay for nurses and other public sector workers.

Back in July, the annual budget survey by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) revealed that councils in England were forced to make cuts of 26 per cent in their social care budgets, or £3.53bn, once inflation and demographic pressures are taken into account.

David Pearson, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, welcomed the extra NHS funding but said in a statement: “Putting additional resources into health while simultaneously reducing social care spending is nonsense.

“Despite local government’s commendable resolve to work closely with the NHS to support the increasing numbers of people who leave hospital every week, social care budgets have been neglected and starved of the vital funding they need in order to make sure that unsustainable pressure on accident and emergency and other hospital services is relieved.”

But credit where credit is due

One of Osborne’s commitments has been widely welcomed by the care sector; tax breaks and in particular those for carers.

Last year Mr Osborne waived the first £2,000 of National Insurance contributions for all companies but those employing domestic staff including carers, cleaners and gardeners were excluded. Now those employing a carer will also be allowed to take advantage of this. The Carer’s Allowance earnings limit will also increase in April 2015 from £102 to £110 per week.

Handle with care

Protecting the NHS means that social care will remain exposed to cuts. If the Government is not careful, the sector will suffer increasingly in the lead up to the general election in May, as politicians continue to prioritise the NHS.

But social care and the NHS should not be treated separately - it is the whole system of care that requires financial support. There has been a lot of talk lately about integrating health and social care but there was little sign of it when Osborne came to speak – he rightly covered health, but what happened to social care?

Overall, Osborne’s autumn statement boost of short-term cash will help the current NHS crisis for now, and some would argue that it will earn the Conservatives some brownie points, but whoever wins the general election next year will have to pick up the pieces. And the question remains, has anyone considered what might happen post-election?