10 June 2025, 14:47 | Updated: 10 June 2025, 14:48

By Leo Ewbank and Ruth Thorlby

A year ago this week, Keir Starmer launched Labour’s general election manifesto. He spoke of creating a ‘fairer, healthier, more secure Britain’ with growth in every community. This was to be delivered through five missions, spanning growth, energy, crime, education and health. On Wednesday, the chancellor will set budgets for government departments up to 2028/29. Hopes of delivering tangible improvements in public services will rest partly on Reeves’ choices. In health and care, the challenges are pressing: large care backlogs, falling public satisfaction, and the health of the population flatlining with stark inequalities between regions.  Where should the chancellor focus to address these pressures?

The NHS was a relative winner from the Autumn Budget last year securing funding growth of around 2.8%. Recent media reports........

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