---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Future NHS Funding
Thank you for contacting me about future NHS funding.
I believe fully in the NHS and its values, and I would like to assure you that the Government is committed to a tax-funded NHS, free at the point of use, wherever and whenever you need it. As Ministers plan a new relationship with the EU, the Government will continue to ensure that the NHS is given the priority and stability it deserves.
The NHS in Devon is underfunded and needs attention. As you may well be aware the N.E.W Devon CCG is currently operating under a success regime which is a route and branch review of what the CCG needs. I am hoping this will be an opportunity to create a new rural model of care as current funding structures are not suited to areas such as ours. They depend on a high level of footfall which we don’t have. I have established an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) which is a cross party group that will look into Rural Health and Social Care. One of the issues the group will look into is the rural funding issues and it will lobby ministers to give us what we need.
Despite tight public finances, the Government has actively supported the NHS’ own plan for the future. That is why it is providing the additional £10 billion of investment per annum in real terms by 2020/21 - compared to 2014/15 – requested to fund a transformation in care. This will allow the NHS to offer 800,000 more operations and treatments and spend up to £2 billion more on new drugs. It will also ensure that by 2020, everyone will be able to access GP services at evenings and weekends.
The Government is starting the process of integrating and improving health and social care to protect people at every stage of their lives. Local authorities, such as Devon County Council now have the power to raise a social care precept. While this won’t solve all the problems of health and social care funding it is certainly a positive start. The social care precept will be supported by making extra funds available for local government from 2017, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019/20 and to be included in the Better Care Fund. This will ensure that spending on social care will have risen in real terms by the end of this Parliament and protect the most vulnerable in society.
The Government has committed to unprecedented levels of mental health funding, including £1.25 billion for perinatal and children and young people’s mental health, helping professionals to intervene early. To support teenagers with eating disorders, the Government has also invested £150 million.
The NHS will earmark an extra £2.4 billion a year for GP services by 2020/21, a 14 per cent real terms increase. Overall investment in primary medical care includes a £500 million Sustainability and Transformation package to help GP practices add to the workforce and tackle workload.
On top of this, to secure the best value for taxpayers, the Government has introduced tough new financial controls to cut down on waste in the NHS, including introducing caps for agency staff and management consultants, and introducing central procurement rules. The Government has also introduced a £1.8 billion Sustainability and Transformation Fund in 2016/17 to support providers to move to a financially sustainable footing.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
