17 January 2020 | Facts and news from Full Fact
View in your browser ([link removed])
** FACTCHECK
------------------------------------------------------------
** Boris Johnson's first 2020 interview
------------------------------------------------------------
This week the Prime Minister took part in his first televised interview since winning the election in December.
He made a number of claims which we have written about before, plus a few new ones:
** NHS cash boost
------------------------------------------------------------
Mr Johnson claimed that the NHS will be receiving £34 billion, the biggest ever cash injection.
£34 billion is the biggest spending increase in cash terms. But accounting for inflation (a more meaningful way to look at the numbers) the figure is £20.5 billion—the increase between 2004/5 and 2009/10 was even larger than this. We covered this in more detail in the run up to the election ([link removed]) .
** New nurses
------------------------------------------------------------
References were made to the Conservatives’ election manifesto pledge of 50,000 more nurses in the NHS in England by 2024/25, and 6,000 more GPs.
Whether these claims are accurate will ultimately depend on whether the targets are met. The proposed increase in nurses won’t all be ‘new’ staff ([link removed]) , as we wrote about before.
** Hospitals
------------------------------------------------------------
Mr Johnson claimed that the government will be taking away hospital parking charges for patients. This was announced in December, and is expected to happen from April 2020.
He also repeated an election claim that the government will build 40 new hospitals, and upgrade 20.
In October, the government announced plans to build “40 new hospitals” across England. But only six have been given the money to upgrade their buildings within the next five years—the rest will get money towards developing plans, but not to begin any building work yet.
Theplan for 20 hospitals to be upgraded ([link removed]) was announced in July last year and is a separate policy.
** Police Officers
------------------------------------------------------------
Mr Johnson claimed that his government is putting 20,000 more police on the streets. Again, the accuracy of this depends on whether the target is met. We do know that this would return the number of police officers in England and Wales ([link removed]) to almost, but not quite, the total in 2010.
He also made reference to the Home Office’s announcement this week that it would allow police in England and Wales to bid for part of a fund to equip their force with more Tasers. It says that final funding allocations will be announced in February.
** National living wage
------------------------------------------------------------
Mr Johnson claimed that the government will be lifting the living wage by the biggest ever amount.
The “national living wage” (the government’s minimum wage for anyone aged 25 and over) will rise from £8.21 to £8.72 in April. That’s the largest increase (not adjusting for inflation) since the national living wage was put in place in 2016.
Full fact check here ([link removed])
BECOME A FULL FACT SUPPORTER
Can you join the fight against bad information in 2020?
The fight against bad information didn't end at the election. This year, our small team will be committed to calling out misleading claims more loudly than ever. But we won’t be able to do it without you.
The generosity of readers like you keeps us independent and helps us continue fact checking. But as we enter a new decade and the first year of our new Parliament, we need even more support to ensure that those who make false claims are held accountable.
Can you help us, and join the fight against bad information?
Yes - I’ll join Full Fact’s monthly supporters ([link removed])
Yes - I’ll donate £25 to independent fact checking ([link removed])
** FACT CHECK
------------------------------------------------------------
** People signing up to UK GPs almost certainly pay tax ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Posts on Facebook claim that 500,000 people per year who weren't born here and don't pay taxes have signed up with a GP.
The number of GP sign-ups is closer to 650,000 a year in England and Wales, but they have almost certainly contributed to the cost of the NHS by paying tax. Many will be employed and pay income tax and National Insurance, and they will almost certainly pay things like VAT which ultimately contribute to funding for public services.
Taxing claims ([link removed])
** FACT CHECK
------------------------------------------------------------
** Finland is not going to have a four-day working week ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Multiple outlets claimed last week that Finland planned to introduce a four-day working week under new Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
This is not true. Ms Marin informally proposed the idea during a panel in August 2019 when she was Minister of Transport, but the Finnish Government confirmed on Twitter there is no mention of the four day week in its new policies.
Still Finnishing on Friday ([link removed])
** FACT CHECK
------------------------------------------------------------
** Also this week...
------------------------------------------------------------
* Social care tops a list of issues needing action from the government according to the public in one selective poll, but other polling shows the public think Brexit and the NHS are the most important issues overall ([link removed])
* A claim that the sugar tax has raised sugar consumption from certain foods needs more context ([link removed])
* Up to 260 UK patients per year experience vision loss because of healthcare delays ([link removed])
Find the latest fact checks ([link removed])
============================================================
Many thanks from the Full Fact team
** Follow us ([link removed])
** Follow us ([link removed])
** Donate ([link removed])
** Donate ([link removed])
** Like us ([link removed])
** Like us ([link removed])
** Follow us ([link removed])
** Follow us ([link removed])
You can find out how we're funded ** here ([link removed])
.
Copyright © Full Fact 2019 - All rights reserved
Our mailing address is:
2 Carlton Gardens, London, SW1Y 5AA
We use Mailchimp to send you our emails and to see which articles are most popular. ** Read our privacy policy ([link removed])
or ** Mailchimp's privacy policy ([link removed])
** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
** update subscription preferences ([link removed])
