The chancellor has set a new target to cut the maximum wait for an NHS operation to three months.

The NHS budget in 2007/08 will be £40 billion higher than this year - an annual real terms growth of 7.3 per cent. Health spending as a proportion of GDP is set to rise from 7.7 per cent this year to 9.4 per cent in 2007/08.

Forum Response: Health Development Agency

A spokeswoman for the Health Development Agency told ePolitix.com: "The Health Development Agency welcomes the pledges in the Comprehensive Spending Review aimed at reducing the health inequalities affecting children and giving them 'a secure start in life.

"The creation and operation of children's centres in disadvantaged areas; commitment to support Sure Start in the longer term and the setting up of a new single interdepartmental unit with responsibilities for childcare, early years and Sure Start are all to be commended.

"Together with the target of reducing the proportion of mothers who continue to smoke during pregnancy by six percentage points, we are also pleased to see that there is to be support for schools to develop as 'extended schools' to provide services such as health and social care, family learning and childcare.

"However, this is just part of the work needed to help improve health and reduce health inequalities. We look forward to an early publication of the promised information on the strategy to tackle the wide range of health inequalities and the delivery plan for the Spending Review period."

Forum Response: Depression Alliance

A spokeswoman for the Depression Alliance told ePolitix.com: "Depression is one of the most common conditions in the UK, affecting one in five people at some stage in their life. It is also one of the most misunderstood. The World Health Organisation estimates that by 2020 depression will be the biggest global health concern after chronic heart disease.

"Depression Alliance welcomes Gordon Brown's comprehensive spending review, part of which focuses on the reduction of suicide rates. However, we do not believe that any great changes will be effected solely by throwing money at issues; a lack of service provision for the 1 in 4 of us who are affected by mental health illness is not only due to the deficiency in funding, but also due to incomprehension of the problem and ways in which to solve it.

"The UK now has one of the highest attempted suicide rates in Europe, with a massive 50 per cent increase since 1990. At least three-quarters of suicides are the result of depression, with more than 7,000 people taking their own lives each year in the UK and Ireland.

"As the leading UK charity for depression we have not as yet been consulted about the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and have recently found out that the government will not be supporting either our self-help support groups or our self-management work, both of which are vital in the prevention of suicide and support of depressed people.

"The government must work alongside organisations like ours. We fill in the gaps in service provision in a cost effective way, informed by the experiences of people affected by depression, many of whom have attempted suicide. We know why many people commit suicide and we know how to prevent it. What we need now is tangible support from this government."

Forum Response: Nestor Healthcare

Justin Jewitt, chief executive of Nestor Healthcare, told ePolitid.com: "We wholeheartedly support Gordon Brown's comprehensive spending review.

"Gordon Brown has demonstrated his desire to radically change the delivery in public services, and for us in the NHS, that means utilising all the resources in the public and private environment to deliver better quality patient care and shorter waiting lists."

Forum Response: Unison

Dave Prentis, general secretary of UNISON, told ePolitix.com: "We need joined up thinking in government circles - you cannot unblock the beds in our hospitals without having the back up available in local government.

"You must invest in home care services, in residential care staff, in the meals on wheels service if you are going to cut hospital waiting lists."

Forum Response: Royal College of Nursing

Dr Beverly Malone, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, told ePolitix.com: "We welcome the provisions that will help nurses with young families with childcare provision.

"Expanding the work permit system for key workers will go some way to stemming nurse shortages by enabling more qualified nurses from overseas who want to work in the UK to do so."

"Following the announced investment in health in the Budget we now hope that NHS pay modernisation is implemented speedily."

Forum Response: Cancer Research UK

A spokesman for Cancer Research UK told ePolitix.com: "At present there is a serious shortage in the UK of high quality doctors, nurses and scientists carrying out research into cancer. There are also difficulties with recruiting and retaining the best scientists into teaching and university lecturing."

Forum Response: Unifi

Ed Sweeney, general secretary of Unifi, told ePolitix.com: "Health provision is very important and any new money for the National Health Service will be welcomed by our members."

Forum Response: Royal National Institute of the Blind

A spokeswoman for the RNIB told ePolitix.com: "RNIB hopes that additional resources for schools, hospitals, children's services and the voluntary sector can be channelled into improving blind and partially sighted people's access to public services which remains patchy and unacceptable.