This is interesting: the OBR now forecast average CPI inflation and economy-wide earnings growth of 4.1% in 2023/24 (their previous CPI forecast was 5.5%).

Departments have said they can afford 3.5% pay awards. It wouldn't take enormous sums of money to bridge that gap...

It’s Treasury brain again: Let’s try to save spending money right now without worrying about how much more money it will cost the health service in the long run to not have enough staff- Treasury tries to curb NHS plans for more doctors and nurses thetimes.co.uk/article/treasu…

NEW: Our #REALCentre commissioned LSE Health Policy to research pharmaceutical policy in the UK.

They identify 🔎
▶️ shortcomings of current pharmaceutical policy
▶️ key principles for building a more coherent system.

Read the final reports 🔽
health.org.uk/funding-and-pa…

60% of delayed discharge due to challenges in the NHS, not social care - we need to tackle both challenges. New ⁦The Health Foundation⁩ explainer of the discharge problem👇 health.org.uk/publications/l…

It's now difficult to see an end to public sector pay disputes and strikes that does not involve the Treasury providing additional funding to departments.

Why? And what does this mean for next month's Budget? A quick thread based on our Institute for Fiscal Studies pre-Budget briefing 🧵

Good morning.

Journalists, comms people & policy makers: please *stop* obsessing over early retirements as the big driver of rising rates of non-working.

Today's statistics show that there are now *fewer* people retired and economically inactive than there were pre-pandemic.

We’re told wholesale #energy prices are falling, which should bring our bills down.

Yet we’re also warned household #EnergyBills are going to spike by 40% in April & the gov is being called on to act.

How can we reconcile the two?

Feeling confused?

A thread for you...🧵1/

What has happened to the 40 new hospitals promised by the government?

Laurie Rachet-Jacquet tells The Observer that the money allocated thus far is ‘woefully insufficient’ to meet capital expenditure on this scale, especially in light of rising inflation ⬇️
theguardian.com/society/2023/f…

The argument that’s often made for why we need an alternative model to the NHS or radical reform is that the NHS is unsustainable. The latest to make the argument is Sajid Javid. But *is* the NHS unsustainable? A Friday🧵

Yesterday saw the Chancellor announce a new round of energy support for businesses which will fill the gap when the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) introduce in Sep last year expires in at the end of March.