Every year the press is full of speculation about what might appear in the Budget. But with a government struggling in the polls, public finances under sustained pressure, debt pushing towards 100% of GDP, and stubborn cost of living pressures still hitting households, speculation around this year’s announcements has been especially intense, fuelled further by rumoured policies such as removing the two child benefit cap (now confirmed).

Yet alongside the expected changes to individual taxes and benefits, today also brought fresh funding for the delivery of public services. This could offer a genuine boost to public sector suppliers who have spent most of 2025 dealing with fewer tenders and a slower market. We set out where the government plans to invest and, importantly, how much.

🏥 | Health & Social Care

• £29 billion real-terms annual increase for the NHS by 2028-29 to expand appointments and shift care into the community.
• £2.3 billion real-terms rise in DHSC capital budgets by 2029-30 to modernise estates and equipment.
• Up to £10 billion by 2028-29 for NHS technology and digital transformation, including a single patient record.
• £300 million for NHS technology this year to improve patient access, digital records and automation.
• 250 Neighbourhood Health Centres funded, with over 100 to open by 2030, expanding out-of-hospital care.
• Over £4 billion additional funding for adult social care by 2028-29 via increased NHS contributions through the Better Care Fund.
• £100 million for new community help partnerships to support adults with complex needs.
• At least £80 million per year for tobacco cessation and enforcement to improve long-term health outcomes.
• £555 million to support children staying safely with families and stabilise children’s social care markets.
• £560 million from 2026-27 to 2029-30 to refurbish and expand children’s homes and foster placements.

🚆 | Highways & Transport

• £15.6 billion by 2031-32 for Transport for City Regions settlements for elected mayors.
• £2.3 billion in Local Transport Grant for areas outside city-region settlements to upgrade local infrastructure.
• £2.2 billion between 2026-27 and 2029-30 for Transport for London renewals.
• £24 billion between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads.
• Over £2 billion annually by 2029-30 for local authorities to repair, renew and maintain local roads.
• £891 million to complete government-funded works for the Lower Thames Crossing.
• £1.35–£1.62 billion for the DLR Thamesmead extension, supported by long-term central government funding.
• Around £750 million per year to maintain and improve bus services, including franchising pilots and extending the £3 fare cap.
• £2.6 billion to decarbonise transport, including £1.4 billion for EV uptake and £400 million for charging infrastructure.
• £200 million to accelerate the rollout of EV chargepoints nationwide.
• £616 million for walking and cycling routes to support active travel.
• £1.3 billion additional funding for the electric car grant, extending to 2030 (taking total funding to £2 billion).

💻 | ICT & BPO

• £1.9 billion over the SR period for digital infrastructure through Building Digital UK to support nationwide gigabit rollout.
• £1.9 billion SR25 settlement uplift for DSIT to drive cross-government digital transformation and AI adoption.
• £10 million to support semiconductor investment linked to new AI Growth Zones.

🧱 | Buildings

• £39 billion over 10 years for the Affordable Homes Programme from 2026-27 to expand social and affordable housing supply.
• £2.5 billion in low-interest loans over the SR period to increase social housing providers’ capacity to build.
• £4.8 billion in financial transactions to catalyse private investment in housing between 2026-27 and 2029-30.
• £950 million for the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund to expand temporary accommodation.
• £1 billion from 2026-27 to 2029-30 to accelerate remediation of unsafe social housing.

🌱 | Waste & Environment

• £13.2 billion for the Warm Homes Plan, including £5 billion of financial transactions for heat pumps and energy efficiency.
• £9.4 billion in capital budgets for Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage clusters.
• £2.7 billion per year for sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026-27.
• £4.2 billion over three years for new and upgraded flood defences across England.

🛡️ | Civil Defence

• £1.5 billion this Parliament for munitions and explosives manufacturing, including 13 potential new production sites.
• £7 billion between 2024-25 and 2029-30 to deliver 14,000 new prison places.
• Up to £700 million per year by 2028-29 for probation services to support sentencing reforms.
• Up to £450 million per year by 2028-29 for courts to expand Crown Court sitting days.
• Up to £280 million per year by 2028-29 for the Border Security Command to combat organised immigration crime.
• £200 million to transform the asylum system and end hotel use, delivering at least £1 billion annual savings by 2028-29.

🏫 | Education

• £2 billion real-terms uplift to the core schools budget, rising to £4.7 billion annual cash increase by 2028-29.
• £760 million across 2026-27 and 2027-28 to support SEND system reform.
• £370 million over four years to expand school-based nursery provision.
• £5 million to expand and modernise secondary school libraries.
• £18 million to improve and upgrade playgrounds across England.
• £132.5 million of dormant assets between 2024–2028 to support disadvantaged young people’s access to music, sport and the arts.
• £410 million per year by 2028-29 to expand Free School Meals eligibility, plus £80 million annually for early years and post-16 settings.

⚖️ | Devolution & Regional Growth

• £13 billion in flexible devolved funding for seven metro mayors to invest in skills, business support and infrastructure.
• £370 million for the Northern Ireland Executive over the SR period via the Barnett formula.
• £505 million for the Welsh Government via the Barnett formula.
• £820 million for the Scottish Government via the Barnett formula.
• £30 million for the Kernow Industrial Growth Fund to support critical minerals and marine innovation.
• £14 million for low-carbon technologies in Grangemouth.
• £20 million to renew infrastructure at Inchgreen in Inverclyde.
• £20 million to redevelop Kirkcaldy town centre and seafront.
• £16 million to establish a new science centre in Darlington.
• £20 million for the Peterborough sports quarter from the Growth Mission Fund.
• £17 million to strengthen Northern Ireland’s external market and support advanced manufacturing.
• £10 million for semiconductor support as part of Welsh AI Growth Zones.

🎭 | Culture & Leisure

• Over £2.9 billion across the SR period for cultural, heritage, youth and sports infrastructure.
• Funding committed for major sporting events including the Tour de France Grand Départ and Tour de France Femmes in 2027.

This new injection of funding should translate into UK1 pipeline notices across key markets in due course. In the meantime, if you want early visibility of future public sector procurement activity, Oxygen Insight’s pre-procurement service can help. It tracks meeting minutes, forward plans, strategy papers and other public documents to provide early warnings of upcoming procurements before a formal procurement process, giving your sales team valuable information to guide targeted and timely outreach.