From education to employment

SPENDING REVIEW FACTSHEET – DELIVERING PUBLIC SERVICE PROMISES

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak

During these are difficult and uncertain economic times it is right that our immediate priority is protecting people’s health and their jobs, however this Spending Review (#SR20) also delivers stronger public services, our second priority.

Next year, total departmental spending will be £540 billion, with core day-to-day departmental spending growing by £14.8 billion in cash terms next year compared to 2020/21. From 2019/20 levels, that is an average growth of 3.8% a year, the fastest rate in 15 years.

Next year, the core health budget will grow by £6.6bn

  • This will help us deliver 50,000 more nurses and 50 million more general practice appointments – on top of the £3bn allocated for Covid recovery.
  • And we’re increasing capital investment by £2.3bn since last year. This includes:
    • £4.2 billion for hospitals to refurbish and maintain their infrastructure
    • £559 million for technology to modernise and improve patient and staff experience
    • £325 million for the NHS to replace ageing diagnostic equipment like MRI and CT scanners
    • £165 million for the eradication of mental health dormitories
    • And we will fund the biggest hospital building programme in a generation – building 40 new hospitals by 2030, and upgrading 70 more

£2.2bn more for schools next year, well on the way to delivering our commitment of an extra £7.1bn by 2022-23.

  • Every pupil in the country will see a year-on-year funding increase of at least 2%.
  • We’re delivering the PM’s commitment to rebuild 500 schools over the next decade.
  • £1.5bn over six years to rebuild our Further Education colleges in England
  • £220m for holiday activities and food programmes for schoolchildren during Easter, Summer and Christmas holidays in 2021.
  • £291m to pay for more young people to go into further education
  • £375m to fund first steps towards a Lifetime Skills Guarantee and extending traineeships, sector-based work academies, and the national careers service.

We are making our streets safer

  • Next year, funding for the criminal justice system will increase by over £1bn.
  • £4bn (£1.25bn of which is new funding) over four years to provide 18,000 new prison places across England and Wales.
  • More than £400m to recruit 6,000 new police officers by the end of 2021-22 – on track to recruit 20,000 more officers by 2023
  • This is on top of the £750m provided at last year’s Spending Round to hire the first 6,000 additional officers and help pay for the infrastructure for all 20,000 
  • £63m to tackle economic crime, including support for National Economic Crime Centre

We are supporting local communities

  • Over £3bn in additional Covid-19 support for local authorities
  • SR20 allows local authorities to increase their core spending power by 4.5%. 
  • Local authorities will have extra flexibility for Council Tax and the Adult Social Care precept, which together with £300m of new grant funding, gives them access to an extra £1bn to fund social care.
  • This is on top of the extra £1bn social care grant we provided this year to manage the effects of the coronavirus.
  • Social care authorities will be able to charge an adult social care precept of up to 3 per cent
  • £254m to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping for 2021-22 for accommodation, substance misuse support and frontline services.

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