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Clearest statement yet from a Tory politician that the NHS budget will be used to compensate social care for cuts in social care that have already happened and that will be happening 2015 - 2020. This is the fate of the BCF which involved no new money that was predicted last year in this publication. Osborne will have to re-write his autumn statement to encompass the seemingly never ending spending promises made in the last two months. That will be very bad news for local government and other unprotected services.