Lib Dems penny for NHS would raise £25m extra for North Somerset

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 £25 million for North Somerset, with £16m extra for the North Somerset NHS and £9m extra for investment in local 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 Parliamentary Candidate Mike Bell said: "Right now in North Somerset, we are seeing unacceptable waits in A&E, we are seeing Weston Hospital's emergency department facing cuts and we are seeing GP services really struggling to cope.

"This is totally unacceptable and the the Liberal Democrats are prepared to be honest with people and say that to secure the future of the NHS we will all need to chip in a little more.

"A penny in the pound on income tax would allow us to invest in improving local NHS services and ensuring the elderly receive the long term care they deserve.

"This Conservative government has left our health and care services chronically underfunded - and while the crisis gets worse they just don't seem to care.

"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.

"A penny in the pound to save the NHS is money well spent in our view.

"But simply providing more money on its own is not enough and that's why this is just the first step in our plan to protect health and care services in the long-term."

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