Increasing the role of the private sector in the UK health system will not make the service more efficient and should not be seen as a solution to rising long term healthcare costs, argues the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

The centre left institute’s report to mark the 60th anniversary of the NHS concludes that taxation or collective funding is still the most efficient and fairest way to fund health care.

The report states that governments that have tried to shift costs from the public to private purse rarely save and sometimes increase costs. For example, France’s system of high charges for services such as seeing a doctor or treatment as an outpatient has not controlled rising costs.

Total healthcare spending in …