Inflation-busting NHS deal 'not enough to fix service'

BMA calls for government to match funding of Blair years

- DAVID MADDOX

Fears have been raised that Wes Streeting’s inflation-busting funding deal for the NHS will not be enough for him to pay for the reforms he wants to drive through.

Sources have told The Independent that the Department for Health and Social Care is set to get about 4 per cent – between £7bn and £8bn – as Mr Streeting confirmed that he has mostly agreed his settlement with chancellor Rachel Reeves. Inflation is currently running at 1.7 per cent.

But despite the figure being the most generous settlement for any government department, experts and NHS insiders have been warned by the respected King’s Fund that it is “a stand-still settlement” while others claim it may be short of what is needed in the wake of the massive pay deal for junior doctors.

The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents doctors, has told The Independent it believes the government should match the average of the Tony Blair government years which saw an annual rise of 6.7 per cent. This would equate to more than £13bn in the current Budget – well above what Mr Streeting is understood to have secured.

The row, which also dogged the previous Tory governments, is overshadowed by the recent report by Lord Darzi which suggested the NHS needs £37bn, including £19.2bn of investment in capital infrastructure over three years.

It comes as Mr Streeting joins the prime minister today to urge the public and people working in the NHS to take part in a major consultation on the future of the service.

The Independent has learned that the influential Labour Together think tank is already planning Mr Starmer’s strategy to win the next election, with the NHS and the cost of living crisis being central pillars. This means Labour will need “to fix the NHS” by the time they go to the country again.