What was not included, from NHS payrise to broadband and social care

Rishi Sunak was widely praised for his plans to help the UK economy back on its feet in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. But as the dust settles and the numbers crunched, questions are inevitably being asked about what was not included in his big speech on Wednesday.

Here i looks at the big omissions from his summer economic update.

NHS

NHS chiefs are calling for an additional £10bn from the Treasury to deal with the backlog of health issues that have built up due to the crisis, as well as money to prepare for a second wave of the disease. But there was no mention of extra cash from the Chancellor to deal with what is expected to be a tough winter.

NHS pay rise

Ministers are under pressure to recognise the efforts made by frontline NHS workers during the Covid-19 outbreak, with the level of nurses’ and other NHS staff members’ pay a particular focus. The Government has said workers should be rewarded but there was nothing concrete from the Chancellor this week.

Social care

An ever-present elephant in the room for Boris Johnson. At the very start of his premiership he committed to having a social care plan by Christmas, but it still seems some way off. The sector has been ravaged by Covid-19 but any hint of extra funding in the Chancellor’s speech was missing.

University support

Universities are in danger of becoming the new “Cinderella sector” under this administration despite their enormous influence on the UK and global stage. The Institute for Fiscal Studies warned around a dozen universities are at risk of collapse due to the pandemic, but there is as yet no mention of additional support for the sector. There was £300m announced for research, however.

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Broadband

Perhaps one of the more surprising omissions from either Mr Sunak’s speech or the Prime Minister’s last week was the lack of any detail to expand superfast broadband as per the Conservatives’ manifesto. Mr Johnson has committed to getting “gigabit broadband sprouting in every home” by 2025. Given the majority of UK workers are still working from home, a broadband announcement had been expected but wasn’t to be.

Childcare

Another sector that has been brought to its knees by the pandemic and is desperately in need of additional funding. Early years providers were facing a perilous future before the crisis due to a lack of funding for the Government’s 30 hours free childcare policy. The forced closure during lockdown has pushed many to the brink, but there was little in this speech for childcare providers.

Pensions

Although not surprising that pensions were not included in the speech, it is worth noting that the Chancellor must start to spell out how he intends to pay for his recovery plan. Rumours had been swirling in the run up to his address that the Conservatives’ triple lock on pensions could be scrapped to help generate funds.

Shape of recovery

Although this was not a “fiscal event”, which would bring with it economic forecasts by the Office of Budget Responsibility, it was reasonably expected Mr Sunak would hint at the type of recovery the country might make – be it “V-shaped”, a “Nike-swoosh” – as a result of his interventions.