News / 2.7% rise for Scots health boards

The Scottish government has pledged to protect frontline public services as it handed the NHS a 2.4% increase in spending for 2010/11.

Reductions in the UK government spending, announced in the April 2009 Budget, have been passed on to the devolved nations.

In Scotland, this has meant the departmental expenditure limit – the funds available to departments through the operation of the Barnett formula – set out in the 2007 spending review for 2010/11 has been reduced by around £500m. This will be a real terms cut on the 2009/10 figure and is made up of cuts of £392m in the resource budget and £129m in capital following the reduction of the English Department of Health’s capital baseline by £1.3bn.

In his draft budget published in September, cabinet secretary for finance and sustainable growth John Swinney said overall health spending would rise by 2.4% to £11.35bn in 2010/11. Health board funding would increase by 2.7% to £8.54bn and they will also be required to make a 2% efficiency saving. Each board will receive growth of around 2.7%, while special health boards will get 2.3%.

But capital spending will be cut under the proposals from £679.4m in 2009/10 to £574.4m in 2010/11.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said it was a good deal. ‘We will not allow cuts imposed on us to lead to cutbacks for Scottish patients. With the 2% efficiency savings all boards are required to make, which they keep to reinvest in frontline services, this will ensure key priorities are safeguarded,’ she added.