The government has rejected NHS England's plea for an emergency £1bn bailout to cover the rising costs of industrial action that have severely disrupted services this year. Instead, NHS England will announce £800m in emergency funding on Wednesday, but none of this money comes from the Treasury or the Department of Health and Social Care.
Of the £800m, £600m has been repurposed from improvement initiatives by NHS England, and the remaining £200m was previously announced by Health Secretary Steve Barclay in September to help the NHS manage winter pressures. The decision is a blow to Barclay, who had been lobbying the Treasury for the additional funds.
NHS chiefs had expected at least £1bn of genuinely new money after months of talks with ministers. The government's refusal may lead to accusations that funds are being saved for tax cuts ahead of the next general election, with the government believed to have £13bn-£15bn of fiscal headroom.
NHS England will distribute the £800m to its 42 integrated care systems, many of which are on track to end the financial year in debt. Strikes had cost the service £1.1bn by the end of July, according to Julian Kelly, NHS England's deputy chief executive. Matthew Taylor of the NHS Confederation warned that without full compensation, the NHS would need to adjust expectations on service delivery.
