Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on funding for the NHS.

At the last Spending Review the Government funded the NHS’s Five Year Forward View plan, with a settlement that provided a £10 billion a year real terms increase to the NHS’s budget by 2020-21.

Even with that significant investment, we recognise that the NHS remains under pressure – with high demand on its services caused by the UK’s ageing population and rapidly advancing technology. That is why we have committed £10 billion of additional funding for the NHS at the Budget and since. This includes making available over £4 billion for a new pay deal for the 1.2 million NHS staff on the Agenda for Change contract, in return for wider reform.

In terms of next steps – as the Prime Minister set out recently at the Liaison Committee, we will come forward this year with a long-term plan for the NHS, and provide a new multi-year funding settlement in support of this plan – consistent with our fiscal rules and balanced approach – ahead of the next Spending Review.