Labour’s NHS and social care plans will save money, “never mind coming in cost-neutral”, Angela Rayner has said. The party’s funding plans for the health service have been criticised by some thinktanks for falling “well short” of what is needed to make improvements. Unions and social care bosses have said the next government must prioritise social care as the sector is “beyond broken”, and tackling problems within the NHS is not enough. The Health Foundation thinktank has called on politicians to be honest with the public about the scale of the crisis facing the NHS and the amount of money needed to address issues, as new analysis shows there is a potential £38bn a year shortfall in the funding needed to improve the NHS by the end of the next parliament. It said an incoming government would face difficult choices – to increase taxes to provide more funding, reduce spending in other departments and services, or see the NHS “do less”. When asked about the costs of Labour’s plans to improve retention in the NHS, Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, told Today on BBC Radio 4: “I actually think by having that workforce plan, and I’ve worked in the social care sector before, and I represented Unison members who worked in our NHS for years as a convener as well, I think we could save money if we could do those reforms.
“If we could value the staff, if we can retain the staff so we’re not paying huge agency fees, I actually think we could save money, never mind coming in cost-neutral. “I think it’s a scandal that we’re spending so much money on agency fees and keeping people on trolleys in A&E because we don’t have the right support for people at the right time when they need it.” Christina McAnea, the general secretary of Unison, has said “social care is beyond broken” adding: “Its shortcomings are having such an appalling impact on other public services, especially the NHS.” Lyn Romeo, who stepped down from her role as chief social worker for adults in England in January after 10 years, echoed her thoughts, saying there was a “big focus on the NHS but that will not be enough if [the next government does not] prioritise social care and get social care on a sustainable footing”. Wes Streeting, the shadow health and social care secretary, admitted at the weekend that he would have liked Labour’s manifesto, which pledged to work towards the creation of a national care service, to be more ambitious on social care. Adult social care charging reforms – including an £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England has to spend on their personal care over their lifetime – had been due to be implemented by the Tory government from October 2023 but were delayed by two years. Social care leaders have called for a “step-change” in the way the sector is understood and talked about by politicians. The public must be given reasons to be hopeful about the future of social care rather than alarmed by the challenges it faces, an open letter to party leaders coordinated by the Local Government Association said. Parties have faced criticism for not giving much space in their manifestos or air time in their campaigning to setting out plans on tackling issues such as costs, workforce shortages and pay in social care.