Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the likely annual cost of health and social care provision for people aged over 65 during the present Parliament.

Alistair Burt

Based upon latest available data (2012/13) the proportion of National Health Service spend on people over 65 was approximately 42.6%. If this same proportion is applied to the 2015/16 budget of £115.4 billion, this would indicate a total spend of around £49.1 billion.

In 2015/16 the overall spend on adult social care was £14.1 billion. Of this total figure, £4.9 billion would be spent specifically on people aged over 65. The remainder of the adult social care budget, although not specifically spent on people over 65, includes significant expenditure on services which benefit them – for example support for carers and mitigation of social isolation.

In addition, the Government has implemented the £5.3 billion Better Care Fund, which provides much needed investment in better integrated care through locally developed plans and putting resources where the local NHS and social services identify requirements. Much of this spend relates to people aged over 65. However, a more detailed breakdown is not available.

Funding decisions for 2016/17 onwards, including spending on health and social care, are subject to the forthcoming Spending Review. This will establish the Government’s spending plans for the next five years.