By Kate Brown
The Prime Minister, Theresa May, announced in a speech in London on Monday that the public would need to pay more in order to pay for the boost in NHS funding. Theresa May promised in the speech that this would be done in a “fair and balanced” way.
The government stated that the NHS England budget would increase by 3.4% a year on average over the next 5 years. Whilst currently the NHS spends £114 billion a year, by 2023 the budget will be £20 billion higher once inflation is taken into account.
Director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), Paul Johnson, said increase in taxes would be the only way the rise could be paid for. Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, confirmed that the boost in funding would come from the taxation system as well as two other sources – Brexit and economic growth.
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