Dan Wellings, Head of Public Health Research at Ipsos MORI, gives an interesting insight into what the public think about the funding of health and social care.

1. Paste co-
brand logo
here
Health and Social Care Funding – Public Perceptions
Dan Wellings, Research Director, Ipsos MORI
@danwellings
© Ipsos MORI

2. Paste co-
brand logo
Very clear and unchanging message on health spending here
Q. “Which TWO or THREE, if any, of the following main areas of public
spending do you think should be protected from any cuts?”
Change from
June ‘09
The NHS/health care 79 -3
Schools 51 -7
Care for the elderly 51 +5
The Police 39 +4
Social services 21 +6
Benefit payments 10 +2
Local authority services 10 +4
Defence 9 -4
Overseas aid 4 -1
None of these * 0
Don't know 1 0
Base: All who think some services should be protected (809) Source: Ipsos MORI/Nuffield Trust
© Ipsos MORI

3. Paste co-
How much of this difference between the generations brand logo
here
is related to funding?
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
1983 1984 1986 1987 1989 1990 1991 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
-20%
-40%
Pre War (born before 1945) Baby Boomers (born 1945-1965)
Generation X (born 1966-1979) Generation Y (born 1980 onwards)
Data: BSA 1983-2010. Each data point represents >100 respondents
© Ipsos MORI

4. Paste co-
Some change over time but unrealistic view held by brand logo
here
sizeable minority
Q On the whole, do you agree or disagree with the following statement:
There should always be limits on what is spent on the NHS
Don’t know Strongly agree
4% 2006 2012
Strongly disagree 11%
14% Agree 44% 58%
Disagree 48% 39%
25% 47%
Tend to disagree Tend to agree
Base: 1,015 Adults aged 16+ in England, May 2012
Source: Ipsos MORI/DH Perceptions of the NHS Tracker 2012
1,001 Adults aged 18+ in Great Britain, January 2006 Ipsos MORI/NICE Public attitudes research 2006
© Ipsos MORI

5. Paste co-
Will possible change in social care funding start to inform NHS logo
brand
here
debate?
Q Many people will need to use social care services Q To what extent are you already preparing
when they are older and it is likely that they may financially to pay for the social care services
have to contribute towards the cost. Before today, you might need when you are older?
to what extent had you thought about preparing
financially to pay for social care services you
might need when you older?
% To a great extent % To some extent % Hardly at all % Not at all % Already using social care services
8% 5%
1%
22%
26%
44%
55%
17%
22%
Base: Adults aged 16+ in England, December 2011 (1001) Source: Ipsos MORI/DH Perceptions of the NHS Tracker
© Ipsos MORI

6. We’ve paid into it all our lives…It’s
what we’re used to. But if people turn
Medicine progresses so quickly, round and said if children are growing
and there are so many things that up, from the age of 30 they would
can be done and people start start to fall into the new system…
expecting them, not unreasonably
because it’s what we are used to
You can’t invoice people
for having cancer

7. Paste co-
More taxes preferred option but we did not ask how brand logo
here
much more
Q. “Many experts argue that it is becoming more expensive to fund the NHS because of increasing costs of
treatments, an ageing population and several other factors. This means that even in order to maintain the current
level of care and services provided for free by the NHS, spending on the NHS would have to increase. With that in
mind, which, if any, of the following would you most like to see?”
Don’t know
8%
None
11%
Reduce the level of care and services provided Increase taxes in order to maintain the
by the NHS so that you do not need to increase the level of spending needed to keep the
current level of taxation and spending on the NHS current level of care and services
48% provided by the NHS
11%
Reduce spending on other services such as
education and welfare in order to maintain the level of
21%
spending needed to keep the current level of care and
services provided by the NHS
Base: 1,006 British adults aged 18+, interviewed by telephone, 22-25 November 2012 Source: Ipsos MORI/Nuffield Trust
© Ipsos MORI

8. Paste co-
In the “marrow of our bones” brand logo
here
Which two or three of the following, if any, would you say makes you most
proud to be British?
%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
The NHS 45
The Armed Forces 40
Team GB 38
The Royal Family 36
BBC 16
Nothing 10
British Business 6
Houses of Parliament 6
Marks & Spencer 4
John Lewis 4
Oxfam 3
Women's Institute 2
Tesco's 1
Other 6
Don't Know 5
Base: 2515 British Adults 16-75, Online Fieldwork conducted between 23rd-27th November 2012 Source: British Future Polling – State of the Nation 2012/3, Ipsos MORI
© Ipsos MORI

9. dan.wellings@ipsos.com
@danwellings