A health minister has revealed that the Government will publish an action plan on brain injury in 2026, after years of campaigning by charities and MPs.
In a letter to the chair of the APPG on acquired brain injury, Ashley Dalton MP, the minister for public health and prevention wrote that “publication in early 2026” is “realistic”.
A debate on a comprehensive acquired brain injury action plan is scheduled to take place in Parliament on Thursday 4 December 2025.
The Minister’s letter says: “The Right to Rehab report is front and centre in our thinking as we explore the feasibility and financial viability of a range of potential actions currently under consideration, including through the ten-year health plan.
“I know in particular how important better community rehabilitation is to people who have experienced an ABI.”
There are around 350,000 admissions to hospitals in the UK of people with an acquired brain injury and up to 60 per cent of prisoners have experienced a traumatic brain injury.
Brain injury is the leading cause of disability and death for people aged 0-40 in the UK, with an estimated hospital admission rate of one person with a brain injury every 90 seconds.
The previous Government committed to deliver a strategy on Acquired Brain Injury in 2021, but it was never published.
A report from earlier this year, Right to Rehab, commissioned by the APPG and the charity UKABIF, urged the Government to invest in specialist neurorehabilitation to save in long term societal costs.
Acquired brain injury (including trauma, stroke and tumours) costs the UK an estimated £43bn a year—1.5 per cent of GDP—through healthcare, social care, lost productivity and wider public services.
The report argued that brain injury should be treated on a par with cancer and dementia, with a statutory Right to Rehab in every region, a national strategy, and better data to end the postcode lottery in care.
The report highlights evidence of a 16:1 return on investment—with £43,000 generating £680,000 savings per patient.
Sir John Hayes MP, chair of the APPG, who in his youth experienced a brain injury, said: “Brain injury doesn’t just change lives — it drives huge costs across society.
“If we want to tackle addiction, mental health crises and violence, we must start with the root cause: brain injury.
“It is time that people are given a right to specialist rehab close to home, and in doing so, we can save money while transforming lives.”
Chloe Hayward, executive director of UKABIF, said: “This is very welcome news. Rehab isn’t a cost — it’s an investment.
“It cuts NHS and social care spending, boosts employment, and helps individuals and families. It transforms lives and strengthens communities — the benefits ripple out to everyone.”
Dr Alyson Norman, a psychology academic at the University of Plymouth, lost her brother Dave after a lifetime of untreated brain injuries led to addiction, homelessness and eventually suicide.
A review revealed “mild” injuries from childhood — including a road accident at three — that were never followed up.
Her own research into 600 serious case reviews found that nearly a third may involve brain injury, often linked to violence or road accidents.
Yet support is patchy, and those affected can seem outwardly fine — even though they are three times more likely to take their own lives.
Dr Norman said: “Specialist community neurorehabilitation could have picked up the issues that led to his downward spiral.”
