BASHH responds to the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget Statement

30 October 2024

Today, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP, made her first significant fiscal statement, setting out the government’s steps to invest in public services. The statement included welcome commitments to support the NHS through an increase of £22.6bn in day-to-day spending and further capital investment, alongside a 3.2% increase in real-terms funding for local government core spending. However, there is an ongoing and pressing need to recognise and prioritise public health as critical to the wider health of the nation.

Responding to the Statement, Professor Matt Phillips, BASHH President, commented:

“This injection of cash for the NHS is hugely welcome and BASHH supports steps taken to support our health services and the people who work in them. We are also pleased to see a much needed uplift in overall investment in local government. But we need further commitment to shift the dial so that there is a focus on public health, as led by local government, as a critical part of the system. This is key to secure an NHS truly fit for the future.

Following the unprecedented cuts of the past decade we now see record levels of diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) with rising demands and pressure on sexual health services and our wider NHS. We want to turn a page and enable our expert sexual health workforce to meet growing and changing needs and end unacceptable health inequalities.

The forthcoming 10-Year Plan for the NHS provides a once in a generation opportunity to put sexual health on a sustainable footing for years to come and we want to work with partners across the system to ensure this opportunity is heeded through strategic cross-system action.”