Brown confirms a 7.1% rise in NHS spending next year

Health was confirmed as the government's biggest spending priority in Chancellor Gordon Brown's UK spending review this week.

The NHS will receive an annual real terms rise of 7.1%—paid for in part by the axing of more than 100 000 civil servants' jobs, including 727 from the Department of Health, and other efficiency savings.

The funding boost, already previewed in April's Budget, will take investment in the NHS from £69bn ($129bn; €104bn) this year to £92bn by 2007-8, Mr Brown told the House of Commons.

He described the boost as funds “that will go to, and be spent through, the NHS and by the NHS on patients treated free at the point of need, and not to subsidise private medicine.”

The chancellor had good news for those in research and development: he pledged financial backing to university research projects funded by charities. The commitment is expected to total £270m by 2008-10.

Professor Alex Markham, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “This money will go some way towards addressing the serious funding shortfall in universities that arises from them accommodating high quality, charity funded research.”

Mr Brown also announced a 2.7% rise in social services spending, up just under £2bn to £13.5bn by 2007-8, with extra care for older people a top priority.

As a crime reduction measure, places in drug rehabilitation centres will continue to rise, from 100 000 six years ago to 200 000 in 2008, he said.

A report outlining the chancellor's three year spending plans detailed the priorities for health spending. They included a target to reduce the wait from GP referral to hospital treatment to a maximum of 18 weeks by 2008; a greater priority on disease prevention; and improved chronic disease management.

New measures to tackle smoking and child obesity will be outlined in the white paper on improving health, due to be published in the autumn.

But the shadow chancellor, Oliver Letwin, said Mr Brown's spending plans would mean third term tax rises from Labour.

He said: “While ministers have been preaching about obesity, their departments have been getting fat on taxpayers' money.”

For the Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable cast doubt on Mr Brown's plans to fund increases through efficiency savings: “If this waste is so easily available why hasn't it been dealt with already?” he said.