Labour’s Budget will end the ‘neglect’ of the NHS – London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com

The Chancellor has said on Tuesday that the Autumn Budget will end the “neglect” of the NHS, but warned the tax rises and increased borrowing might not be enough to repair “14-years of damage” caused by the Tories.

It is believed that Rachel Reeves will inject billions into the NHS including £1.5 billion for surgical hubs.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting insisted that the Chancellor will prioritise the NHS, but it will take time to turn around the health system and Labour’s first Budget will not be enough.

The Chancellor was asked if the Budget will “fix the NHS”, she replied, “I don’t think in one Budget you can undo 14-years of damage, but in this Budget we’re going to provide the resource necessary to deliver on our manifesto commitment to 40,000 additional appointments every single week, to reduce the huge backlog and as well as the increase in the capital budget to take it to its highest level since 2010 to invest in the new scanners and the radiography equipment.”

Reeves revealed that NHS staff are still using machines that was purchased by the previous Labour government, and it has not been updated under the Tories which is hampering productivity.

The Chancellor said that she will be “putting an end to the neglect and underinvestment” within the NHS.

“We will be known as the Government that took the NHS from its worst crisis in its history, got it back on its feet again and made it fit for the bright future ahead of it,” she added.

The Chancellor said she has had to take some “difficult decisions” for Wednesday’s Autumn Budget “on spending, on welfare and taxation.”

Reeves continued, “By making those decisions and putting our public finances and our public services on a firmer footing, we can wipe the slate clean after 14 years of chaos and instability under the last government, and do the things that are necessary to get our public services and public finances on a firmer footing, at the same time doing everything they can to protect living standards, to begin to fix the problems in the NHS and to rebuild the foundations of our country.”

The Health Secretary said, “I can’t promise that there won’t be people waiting on trolleys and corridors this winter.

“We will start planning for next winter, this winter, to make sure we see continued, steady improvement in our NHS.

“What this Budget will enable us to do is arrest the decline in the NHS and start fixing the foundation so we can not only get the NHS back on its feet, but make sure it’s fit for the future as part of our long-term plan.

“I can’t pretend that we’re going to be able to wave a Labour magic wand and make all of those problems go away this winter. There will still be real problems this winter, but we’re not going to deny the scale of the problems, and we are already supporting system leaders, particularly in places that tend to have the most challenge at winter, to try and minimise the risk this winter.”