The health services in Britain broadly welcomed the Labour government's increased funding plans for the next three years, announced last week. Even though they may prove less generous than at first sight, they will underwrite many innovations in the NHS, including more doctors and nurses, a modernisation fund, and, in Scotland, a new concept of instant treatment centres.

The announcement comes as a result of the Treasury's year long comprehensive spending review--from which the NHS is to be the main beneficiary--after 14 months of relative parsimony by Labour. On 14 July the chancellor of the exchequer, Gordon Brown, announced an increase in health service funding totalling £21bn ($34bn) over three years from 1999--although the Conservatives claim to have detected an element of creative accounting and that the actual total is only £10.5bn.

What is not disputed is that health funding will beat inflation by an average of 3.7% a year throughout this parliament, compared with an average of …