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George Osborne confirms extra £2bn for NHS | |
(about 9 hours later) | |
George Osborne has told the BBC he will put an extra £2bn into frontline health services. | |
The chancellor told the BBC it was not a "one-off" but what he called a "down-payment on a long-term NHS plan". | |
There would be no "unfunded giveaways", he said, adding the increase in NHS funding was possible because the economy was strong. | |
Labour's Ed Balls said it was "crisis money" and they would pledge an additional £2.5bn to the NHS. | |
Mr Osborne's pledge - which will be announced in his Autumn Statement on Wednesday - comes after NHS bosses warned of a need for extra funds to keep the NHS going and maintain standards of care. | |
They said £2bn extra was needed to cope with the immediate, unprecedented pressure on NHS budgets. | |
Mr Osborne told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "Because we have a strong economy and we've got the public finances under control, we can afford to put £2 billion into the frontline of the NHS across the United Kingdom," he said. | |
"I can tell you we can go further and use those fines that have been paid by the banks for a permanent improvement in GP services. | |
"This is a down-payment on the NHS's own long-term plan and it shows you can have a strong NHS if you have a strong economy." | |
Further details are expected in the Autumn Statement, which is his update on tax and spending plans based on the latest predictions for the economy. | |
He rejected claims public services would suffer if funding was cut further and said he would outline how the UK would "stay the course to prosperity". | |
"We shouldn't face this false choice of either bankrupting the country or having decent public services," he said. | |
He said "difficult decisions" might be ahead on welfare - possibly freezing working age benefits, although he appeared to rule out cuts to pensioners' benefits. | |
BBC political editor Nick Robinson tweeted that it was still unclear where the money would come from. | |
'At crossroads' | 'At crossroads' |
Mr Osborne will also endorse a five-year plan - NHS Forward View - unveiled by six national bodies last month. | Mr Osborne will also endorse a five-year plan - NHS Forward View - unveiled by six national bodies last month. |
Many of the measures put forward are designed to curb the rise in hospital admissions and the impact of the ageing population - the source of most pressure in the health service. | Many of the measures put forward are designed to curb the rise in hospital admissions and the impact of the ageing population - the source of most pressure in the health service. |
The chancellor has been discussing the plan with Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, who drew up the proposals. | The chancellor has been discussing the plan with Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, who drew up the proposals. |
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will make a statement on Monday formally announcing that the government is committed to the plan to increase spending on the health service by £8 billion in real terms over the next Parliament. | |
The NHS is a huge political issue with all the main parties pledging extra money in the future. | The NHS is a huge political issue with all the main parties pledging extra money in the future. |
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls blamed the Conservatives for causing a crisis in the NHS through its re-organisation and questioned whether the money would be "an actual long-term investment in the nurses and doctors we need". | |
He said it was a "typical Tory pattern" of a "winter crisis, and crisis money coming after it". | |
Mr Balls said Labour's proposed 'mansion tax' on properties worth £2m and over would raise the money to invest £2.5bn "over and above" the government's spending plans into the health service. | |
Labour had called for an extra £1bn next year, paid for by banking industry fines. | |
The Conservatives' coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats, had called for an emergency injection of £1.5bn and a party spokesman said they had "fought to make sure that extra funding for the NHS next year is in the Autumn Statement". | |
"The easy choice would have been to put off this decision until after the election for the next government to deal with, but that would have betrayed patients. The NHS needs this money urgently and we have acted in the national interest to make it a priority." | |