May pledges more cash for the NHS

THERESA MAY has promised a new long-term funding boost for the NHS which could be worth £40billion over the next decade as she said “we cannot afford to wait” to tackle the service’s cash crisis.

Mrs May said the Government needed to “look beyond” proposals for a five-year plan and commit to a “multiyear spending settlement” that could be announced as early as this summer.

The Tories have been wounded by criticism of their handling of health spending and recognise that it will be Labour’s main line of attack at the next general election if the problem is not fixed. Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, will carry out a Government-wide spending review next year but Mrs May said: “We cannot afford to wait until next Easter – in this, the 70th anniversary year of the foundation of the NHS, we need an answer on this.”

However, the Prime Minister did not say how the money would be found, or specify how much extra the NHS could expect to be given or for how long.

She was asked about NHS funding during an appearance in front of the Commons Liaison Committee of MPS, during which she said ministers needed to end the process of “annual top-ups” of the health budget on an ad hoc basis. She said: “This is a critical priority so this year and in advance of next year’s spending review I do want to come forward with a long term spending plan.”

On Monday, Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, said the service needed £4billion per year to return it to “the kind of health service we had for the post-war period”.

Mrs May is understood to be keen to fulfil that desire, while Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, has pushed hard for a 10-year funding settlement.

While a combination of Mr Hunt’s desire for a 10-year plan and Mr Stevens’ request for £4bn per year would mean £40bn over a decade, the Treasury is understood to have urged caution over such an ambitious promise, with sources suggesting the actual figure will be lower.

The Prime Minister said she wanted NHS leaders, clinicians and health experts to be consulted over the new funding settlement.

Mrs May rejected the idea of a crossparty commission on NHS funding, and gave no clues as to the source of the money. There was speculation at the weekend that the Government is considering introducing an “NHS tax” by adding a penny to National Insurance, but Brexiteers in the Cabinet have persistently argued that the money should come from the so-called Brexit dividend when Britain ceases paying money to Brussels.

Mrs May also told MPS “we can all take more responsibility for our health so that the pressures on the NHS are reduced”. Mr Stevens welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement, saying it was “timely and significant”.