The NHS in England is set to get £20bn extra funding by 2023 as a 70th “birthday present”, according to Prime Minister Theresa May.
The Prime Minister said the extra funding would come partly from a “Brexit dividend” and also hinted at tax rises. However, Labour has claimed following the announcement that the Government had failed to fund the NHS properly and was relying on a “hypothetical” windfall.
The director of the economic think tank, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), has also tweeted to say that there is no Brexit “dividend.”
Extra spending can’t be funded by Brexit dividend.
1) Govt has accepted Brexit will *weaken* public finances by £15bn pa
2) Financial settlement with EU plus commitments to replace EU funding already uses up all of our EU contributions in 2022
There is no Brexit dividend
— Paul Johnson (@PJTheEconomist) June 17, 2018
Health & Social Care Secretary, Jeremy Hunt has said the funding boost is a “fitting birthday present for our most loved institution.”
“It recognises the superhuman efforts made by staff over the last few years to maintain services in the face of rapidly growing demand. But it also presents a big opportunity for the NHS to write an entirely new chapter in its history.”
Meanwhile, Labour’s shadow health secretary has said, “Today’s announcement confirms that Theresa May has failed to give the NHS the funding it needs.”
“Labour would have invested nearly £9bn extra this year in the NHS and social care, while asking the wealthiest and big corporations to pay their fair share of tax.”
Will the NHS receive the new funding announced? Comment your thoughts.
