Budget 2024: NHS to receive increase of £22.5bn for day-to-day running and £2.5bn for buildings in disrepair

NHS buildings which in “disrepair” will be allocated £2.5bn for upgrades as part of Labour's first budget in more than 14 years.

Speaking in the House of Commons today (October 30), Chancellor Rachel Reeves also revealed that the day-to-day health budget of the service will increase by more than £20bn.

Ms Reeves told the Commons: “Many NHS buildings have been left in a state of disrepair, so we will provide £1 billion of health capital investment next year to address the backlog of repairs and upgrades across the NHS estate.

“To increase capacity for tens of thousands more procedures next year, we will provide a further £1.5 billion, for new beds in hospitals across the country, new capacity for over a million additional diagnostic tests, and new surgical hubs and diagnostic centres, so that those people waiting for their treatment can get it as quickly as possible.

READ MORE:DWP benefits including Universal Credit, PIP and Attendance Allowance to rise by 1.7 per cent

“The Health Secretary will be announcing the details of his review into the New Hospital Programme in the coming weeks… and publishing in the new year… but I can tell the House today… that work will continue at pace to deliver those seven hospitals affected including West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds and Leighton Hospital in Crewe.”

Announcing the government’s plans for the NHS, Ms Reeves told the Commons: “In the spring, we will publish a 10-year plan for the NHS to deliver a shift from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. Today, we are announcing a down payment on that plan to enable the NHS to deliver 2% productivity growth next year.”

She added: “Today, because of the difficult decision that I have taken on tax, welfare and spending, I can announce that I am providing a £22.6 billion increase in the day-to-day health budget, and a £3.1 billion increase in the capital budget, over this year and next year.

“This is the largest real-terms growth in day-to-day NHS spending outside of Covid since 2010.”

NHS waiting times should be no longer than 18 weeks, the Chancellor has said.

Ms Reeves said: “Because of this record injection of funding, because of the thousands of additional beds that we have secured and because of the reforms that we are delivering in our NHS, we can now begin to bring waiting lists down more quickly and move towards our target for waiting times no longer than 18 weeks, by delivering our manifesto commitment for 40,000 extra hospital appointments a week.

“That is the difference that a Labour Government is making.”

At the start of her budget announcement, Ms Reeves said that change must be felt with an "NHS that is there when you need it."