The NHS is expecting a big cheque - but what about social care?

 The NHS is expecting a big cheque - but what about social care?

While the NHS is expected to get more money in the spending review, the big unanswered question for the health service will be what happens to social care in England.

That is because the two services are inter-linked. Hospitals need care services in place to help speed up the discharge of patients from hospital and to keep them living independently in the community so they do not need to be admitted in the first place.

Some of the funding allocated to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is funnelled into social care, but most of the money comes from council budgets and they are likely to be squeezed.

In the long-term, the government has promised a reform of social care in the form of a new national care service. But that is going to take some time - a commission has been set up, but its final report is not due until 2028.

In the meantime, the fear is that services will be left to limp on - and that causes a problem for the NHS even with the extra money expected.

Our colleagues over on Radio 4's Today programme have been chatting to the CEO of Sage - a multinational software company based in the UK - ahead of the delivery of the Spending Review.

What Steve Hare is looking out for today is "certainty" for its customers, which include small to mid-sized businesses.

This includes "confidence there aren't any more tax rises coming", which he says will allow businesses to invest and "drive their own growth".

While no tax changes will be announced in today's review - that's something for the Budget in autumn - Hare says the review will give businesses "confidence on whether the numbers add up".

Otherwise, he wants to see the government "leading from the front" on digital technology and artificial intelligence.