Following the announcements set out in the government’s June 2025 Spending Review, the Council’s CEO, Ed Hughes, said:

“The Spending Review has signalled the government’s prioritisation of the NHS. Our members welcome the commitment of the 3% a year increase to NHS spending and the support for investment in R&D. It will be important for the 10 Year Health Plan for England to provide further detail on how these investments can together help to deliver a sustainable health and care system drawing on the high-quality education and research.

The pipeline for our health workforce starts in our universities and colleges. However, our members continue to face significant financial sustainability challenges which the Spending Review announcements alone will not resolve. These pressures threaten the viability of some of the very courses the government needs to meet its goal to make the NHS fit for the future, through the three system shifts of analogue to digital, treatment to prevention, and hospital to community.

We continue to call for closer join-up between health and education sectors and departments to address this and look forward to working with the government to build this into future plans for the health workforce through the 10 year Health Plan and forthcoming review of post-16 education and skills.”