How cold will it be?

Summary

NHS spending in England may have more than doubled in real terms since 1999/2000, but the prospects for future funding now look bleak. Although there is consensus that the NHS faces a tough financial future, there is no agreement about just how cold the financial climate will be. Starting with a look at historical funding for the NHS, The King’s Fund and the Institute for Fiscal Studies set out three plausible future funding scenarios and their consequences. The paper concludes with an assessment of each scenario and the options for funding up to 2017.