An extra £36.5M for Barnet Health Services with our Penny for NHS policy
The Liberal Democrats have announced they would plug funding gaps for the NHS and social care by putting a penny on income tax, in their first major manifesto commitment of the election campaign.
The tax would raise an additional £38.5 million for Barnet, with £26 million for the NHS and £12.5 million for social care each year.
This is the party's flagship spending commitment and its first major policy announcement for the election. The Liberal Democrats manifesto will also set out a 'five-point recovery plan' for NHS and social care services in their manifesto.
At least 70% of Brits would happily pay an extra 1p in every pound if that money was guaranteed to go to the NHS, an ITV poll found last October (link).
Liberal Democrat candidate for Chipping Barnet, Marisha Ray said:
"Right now across all of Barnet we are hearing complaints about waiting times, concerns about staffing and worry about a lack of mental health provision.
"We cannot continue asking the system to deliver more and more, without giving it the resources to do so."
Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson and former health minister Norman Lamb said:
"The NHS was once the envy of the world and this pledge is the first step in restoring it to where it should be.
ENDS
Notes
The Liberal Democrats manifesto will set out a 'five-point recovery plan' for NHS and social care services. This will include a 1% rise on the basic, higher, additional and dividend rates of income tax in the next financial year raising around £6bn per year, which will be ringfenced to be spent on NHS and care services and public health.
A regional breakdown of how the £6bn would be distributed, based on current funding allocations for both the NHS and social care, can be found here