‘Significant’ health funding increase on way, says Hunt

THERESA May will grant the NHS a ‘significant increase’ in funding to mark its 70th birthday, Jeremy Hunt has revealed.

The Health Secretary said the PM wanted to plough in extra funds to prove the Tories can be trusted to run the NHS.

He also said the Health Service needs extra money to tackle chronic understaffing, cope with the ageing population and improve care.

According to Mr Hunt, the Prime Minister is ready to ditch the 1 per cent annual budget rises it has received since 2010.

The Health Secretary has been urging colleagues to agree the 4 per cent annual increases the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says is necessary – but the Treasury wants to limit rises to 2.5 per cent. The cash increase will not affect Scotland directly because funding for NHS Scotland is controlled by Holyrood.

But the country will receive a boost via the Barnett formula, a mechanism which guarantees devolved governments extra funding in line with increased public spending in England.

Mr Hunt said the promise of extra funding underlines the Prime Minister’s ‘commitment’ to the NHS. He said: ‘You should not underestimate how committed she is to the NHS. So she is 100 per cent behind getting this right.’

Last month, Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson backed raising taxes to pay for the NHS, saying it was ‘reaching a tipping point’.