Prime Minister backs 'multi-year' funding plan for NHS

Appearing before the Commons Liaison Committee, Prime Minister Theresa May promised a ‘multi-year’ funding plan for the NHS to address its long-terms financial needs.

May said that a blueprint would be revealed later this year that would allow the NHS to ‘plan for the future’ and break the habit of annual ‘cash top-ups’. Her address followed Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s recent suggestion of a 10-year funding deal that would allow proper planning to train the staff needed to cope with the challenges of an ageing population.

Although she didn’t directly agree with Hunt’s call, this represented a radical move by May and highlighted a break with tradition. May emphasised that she wanted to come up with a different approach to funding the NHS and social care in the run-up to next year's government Spending Review, including ongoing dialogue with clinicians and NHS workers.

May said: “We need to get away from this annual approach we see to the NHS budget. We have to recognise for the NHS to plan and manage effectively, we need to get away from the annual top-ups to the budget we have seen. We do need to have a sustainable long-term plan.”