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Opinion: Jeremy Hunt must deliver the NHS workforce plan in this budget
Writing for The Times, Chief Executive of NHS Providers, Julian Hartley, urges the Chancellor to “honour the commitment in the autumn statement to deliver a long-term NHS workforce plan”, when he delivers the budget tomorrow, 15th March.
Hartley states, “[NHS] Providers urged the chancellor to publish the NHS long-term workforce plan in full – including assessments of how many staff will be needed to keep pace with demand. We want to see full implementation of the plan, not a “shopping list”. If it isn’t properly funded, it won’t succeed […]”.
Hartley argues, “Such a plan would help the NHS to focus on key strategic priorities that we all want to see, like reducing backlogs.”
Source: The Times, 14 March 2023
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Seven Spring Budget 2023 predictions from fuel duty to price of alcohol and cigarettes
Tomorrow, at 12.30pm in the Commons chamber, the Chancellor will announce how much the price of alcohol and cigarettes will change. He will also let Brits know of any new benefits, bill support packages and tax increases.
Smokers face the biggest ever price increase in cigarettes next month as Mr Hunt prepares to raise tobacco duty - with a pack of 20 increasing by £1.15.
Increasing cigarette levies with 12.7% RPI - plus an extra minimum 2% bump applied to tobacco products means a pack would rise by more than 15%. It would also see a 30g pack of hand rolling tobacco rise by £2 to £14.90. A pack of 20 cigarettes will cost around £11.80 up from £10.65.
Alcohol duty will be frozen until August. Alcohol levies were due to be increased on 1st February, but the Chancellor will delay that move for an extra six months until 1st August.
Source: The Sun, 14 March 2023
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Parliamentary questions
PQ1: Public Health – Finance
Asked by Andrew Gwynne, Labour, Denton and Reddish
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure his timetable for announcing the 2023-24 Public Health Grant will not effect delivery of local public health services.
Answered by Neil O'Brien, Minister for Primary Care and Public Health
We will announce the 2023/24 Public Health Grant allocations to local authorities in England shortly.
Source: Hansard, 13 March 2023
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PQ2 & 3: Smoking
Asked by Andrew Gwynne, Labour, Denton and Reddish
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the financial cost of smoking to the NHS.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost of smoking to the UK economy.
Answered by Neil O'Brien, Minister for Primary Care and Public Health
The cost of smoking to the National Health Service is £2.4 billion each year. On the cost of smoking to the economy, we do not collect information for the United Kingdom as a whole.
Source: Hansard, 13 March 2023
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