The NHS Funding Bill

This briefing has been produced ahead of the NHS Funding Bill, which is proceeding through the remaining stages of the legislative process on 4 February 2020. It explains what impact the Bill will have on the NHS multi-year funding settlement.

Key points

• The NHS Funding Bill commits the government to enshrine the NHS multi-year funding settlement into law.
• The Bill follows a commitment in the Conservative Party manifesto that ‘within the first three months of our new term, we will enshrine in law our fully funded, long-term NHS plan’.
• The Bill contains a legal duty on both the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Treasury to uphold the minimum level of cash NHS revenue funding in the multi-year settlement.
• The Bill does not determine how the additional funding will be spent and does not provide any additional funding to the NHS on top of what has already by announced.
• According to the government, the multi-year funding settlement will result in a £33.9 billion increase in cash terms by 2023/24, with total NHS England spending rising to £148.5 billion by the end of this term, representing a real-terms increase of £20.5 billion.

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