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Getting a good Brexit deal could result in a "transaction dividend" for the UK economy, said Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Budget Day. insisting that the NHS would obtain the additional funding promised regardless of the starting conditions.
In discussing Philip Hammond's announced increase in the £ 2 billion budget for mental health in real terms, Mr Hancock took a much less bleak view than the Chancellor on how Brexit could affect national finances.
Hammond said Sunday that the new spending regime pledged since Theresa May announced the end of austerity was contingent on the government's conclusion of an agreement on Brexit with the EU, and that a departure without agreement would require an emergency budget.
However, Hancock said on Monday that the additional £ 2 billion for mental health services, as well as the £ 6 billion annual increase for health announced by the prime minister in June, would occur " whatever the outcome of Brexit ".
"The NHS money is guaranteed in the long run. It's necessary, "he told Sky News.
When asked about Hammond's warnings, he said, "I think we're on the right track to get a good deal. I also think that if we get a good deal, we'll get a boost – there will be a dividend on the deal.
"I talk to companies ready to make investments in the UK every day. They want the uncertainties associated with these negotiations to be dispelled before making these investments. So, in fact, I think there is good potential news on the horizon as we enter into an agreement with the EU. "
However, Hancock has three times refused to rule out the possibility of higher taxes to fund additional NHS spending if the economy suffers a brutal blow from Brexit.
When asked on BBC Radio 4's Today, Hancock refused to say what could happen if growth was affected. "Clearly, I want to see the economy continue to grow." Pressed again, he said: "The tax belongs to the Chancellor".
Hammond said Sunday that the biggest spending decision in the budget was the additional funds paid to the NHS in England, announced this summer: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were receiving additional amounts proportional in the usual way.
The increase will begin in 2019-2020 and will reach an additional £ 20 billion in real terms for the NHS England by 2023-2024. In one of the first indications on how this money will be allocated, MEPs will be informed that in England at least £ 2 billion will go to mental health services by 2023-2024. .
As part of the BBC1 Breakfast program, Hancock said the budget would mark the beginning of the "biggest and longest settlement ever signed by the NHS".
"What we will see this afternoon is the efforts made over many years to bring order to the UK public finances and to begin to bear fruit."
He again declined to say how the extra spending could be funded, beyond what he said was additional money from economic growth and low unemployment.
Although considerable compared to the £ 12 billion spent annually for mental health services in England, the think tank of the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IPPR) said the additional $ 2 billion was only half of what was needed to spend more on the same level as physical health. .
In its 2012 Health and Social Services Act, the coalition government legislated to create "parity of esteem" between mental and physical health, but critics claimed that this aspiration had not been achieved. never been done and May herself cited mental health as an area where services need to be improved. .
According to a government briefing, the new money will help guarantee mental health support in all major A & E departments, the area in which people with mental health problems often visit, as no support is available. elsewhere.
Funding will also be used to fund more mental health ambulances, community-based services, specialized crisis teams linking schools, social services and youth mental health services, as well as teams in schools supporting people with mental health issues. suffering from mild or moderate mental health problems.
The Treasury also announced that the budget will allocate 60 million pounds for tree planting. Most of these funds will go to a £ 50 million carbon credit program that will finance around £ 10 million for trees over the next 30 years.
This is Hammond's third budget, and with the prospect of a major reshuffle or leadership race in the next 12 months, many MPs suspect it will be his last. It has been prepared from the information that Hammond and May have been arguing over whether he is responsible for raising spending and reducing taxes in view of the deficit and Brexit.
John McDonnell, the Chancellor of the Shadow, said Sunday that the Labor Party would appeal to other parties in the House of Commons for them to vote against the budget if Hammond did not use it to announce stopping the rollout of universal credit.
