AUTUMN 2025 DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 5
NEWS
Budget 2025 legal comments: ‘New PFI’,
neighbourhood health centres and NHS
investment
Neighbourhood health
centres and public-private
partnerships
The government has committed
to building 250 neighbourhood
health centres, which will be
昀椀nanced by public-private
partnerships.
Carly Caton, partner in
commercial health at UK
and Ireland law 昀椀rm Browne
Jacobson, said: “Leveraging
private 昀椀nance to build 250
neighbourhood health centres –
earmarked as a central plank in
the government’s 10 Year Health
Plan to shift healthcare from
hospitals to communities – is
a wise move at a time of 昀椀scal
restraint.
“Public-private partnerships
(PPPs) can help to speed up
the delivery of new social
infrastructure projects while
bringing down costs to the
taxpayer and sharing risk
between commercial parties and
contracting authorities.
“PPP programmes work
well when there is a consistent
pipeline of projects that allows
the private sector partners
to deliver economies of scale
with some certainty. Bringing
forward a signi昀椀cant number
of community health centres
will help to attract those private
sector partners to the table.
“However, there are important
lessons to be learned from
previous PPP programmes,
including PFI and PF2. These
had perceived drawbacks such
as high transactional fees, long
procurements, lack of 昀氀exibility
and poor-value risk transfer,
which will be important to
address for the NHS to bene昀椀t.”
Autumn Budget: SEND spending
announcement – LGA response
Responding to the Government
saying it will fund the full
cost of SEND provision from
within central government
departmental spending
from 2028/29, Cllr Amanda
Hopgood, Chair of the Local
Government Association’s
Children, Young People and
Families Committee, said:
“While it is positive government
has committed to absorbing
the costs of SEND spending
from 2028/29 – and we look
forward to clarity on how this
will be funded – this does not
address existing de昀椀cits, which
are pushing many councils to the
昀椀nancial brink.
“In the provisional Local
Government Finance Settlement,
we urge the Government to
write off these de昀椀cits - both the
current accumulated de昀椀cits and
any future de昀椀cits expected up
to and including 2028/29 - and
to fully fund all associated costs
such as home school transport
over this period, ahead of setting
out wider, comprehensive reform
of the SEND system in the
Schools White Paper.”
Investing in GP services
Health Secretary outlines
key aims of “generational”
investment.
Additional investment will
“cement the position of general
practice as the critical front door
to our national health service”,
Health Secretary Neil Gray has
told GPs in Aberdeen.
Speaking at the annual
conference of BMA Scotland’s
Local Medical Committees, Mr
Gray outlined the key aims of
the recently announced funding
package of £531 million over the
next three years.
They include:
• record investment to expand
the general practice workforce
• improving general practice
sustainability and wellbeing of
staff
• expanding digital technology
including accelerating of the
delivery of digital prescribing
• further funding to address
health inequalities
Mr Gray said:
“The funding package for
general practice isn’t just about
incremental change - it’s about
NHS reform and building a
strong, sustainable future for
both the NHS and general
practice. An NHS with general
practice at its heart delivering
exceptional patient care while
supporting its workforce.
“This is the largest investment
in core GP services to date in
Scotland and will signi昀椀cantly
boost recruitment from next
year, helping to deliver the
capacity needed to improve
services for patients. It will help
us as we shift the focus of care
from acute to community.
“This is in addition to a
£46 million uplift for pay and
expenses earlier this year for
GPs and practice staff, and £15
million in 2025-26 to support
immediate recruitment needs.
I thank the BMA for their
constructive discussions and
look forward to working with the
sector to ensure patients have
the best possible care available,
as close to home as possible.
“The investment we’ve
secured is generational, to
secure transformation of
services, and this work coupled
with our pilot of 15 new walkin GP centres will ensure we
create a health system that truly
meets the needs of the people of
Scotland.”
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2025
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