The King’s Fund responds to health and care announcements made at Labour Party Conference 2025

Responding to health and care announcements made today at Labour Party Conference 2025, Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King’s Fund, said:

‘The government today has set out its bold plans to modernise how the British public can access health care.

‘The new initiative ‘NHS online’ is a welcome step towards achieving the 10 Year Plan for Health’s ambition to shift from analogue to digital and to deliver better care to patients. It will rely on good patient communication to ensure people who may not be digitally savvy are able to benefit, and a sufficient and skilled workforce to operate it successfully. It will also need to be underpinned by getting the basics right – that includes embedded technology to data share appropriately for good clinical decision making, and a transformed pathway to speed up long waits for care.

‘The funding for a Fair Pay Agreement for social care has been much anticipated and will make a positive difference to people working in the sector. It will also help to drive recruitment especially at a time when migration rule changes mean the sector will rely on attracting more British workers. However, it will be some time before we know what the £500 million will mean for social care workers when a fair pay agreement is implemented in 2028. Unions and providers now need to negotiate how that sum of money will be spent and what level of pay increase it will fund. While it won’t solve all long-standing recruitment issues by itself, it is a welcome downpayment on a long-term solution.

‘Social care providers will want to be sure that the funding fully covers the costs to them, otherwise there could be a risk of a range of unintended consequences such as higher fees for people buying care or a reduction in quality. It will also be vital to ensure a future Fair Pay Agreement is tied into wider sector reforms being developed by the Casey commission.’

Notes to editors

For further information, or to request an interview, please contact The King's Fund media team on 020 7307 2585 or [email protected].

The King's Fund is an independent charity working to improve people's health. Our vision is a world where everyone can live a healthy life. Our mission is to inspire hope and build confidence for positive change. We achieve this through expert insights and original research, developing leaders and their organisations, convening, and strategic, collaborative partnerships.