Health Secretary hints NHS will get more money

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has strongly hinted that the NHS will be given more money in the Chancellor's autumn statement on Thursday.

At a conference of NHS managers, he denied reports at the weekend he had suggested the NHS did not need any more funding than already planned.

He said he had been having lots of talks with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

And he suggested he should be judged tomorrow on whether he had succeeded in getting extra for the NHS.

As part of the autumn statement, the Chancellor is expected to announce a swathe of cuts to public spending.

NHS England's budget is already due to rise by nearly £5bn next year to £157.4bn under a five-year spending deal agreed four years ago.

But NHS bosses have warned it is still facing a £7bn shortfall next year because of inflationary pressures.

Speaking at the annual conference of NHS Providers in Liverpool, Mr Barclay took issue with a newspaper report that suggested he did not think the NHS needed extra.

"That is completely incorrect," he said. "The good thing about this is colleagues in the room will be able to see tomorrow."

"I can assure you that the Treasury wouldn't allocate any money to the department if the department said it didn't need it, given the fiscal situation."

He said there had been a "lot of discussion" with the Chancellor, adding one of the things he could bring to this role having held ministerial positions in Number 10 and the Treasury was being "very good at understanding how best to make the case" for health.

"I can absolutely confirm that we do need support to meet those inflationary pressures," the health secretary said.

And he went on to urge delegates to judge him on the results of Thursday's announcement, saying they should see whether "it is true or not that we don't get a penny and I've not asked for a penny".

If the NHS budget did rise, it would also lead to more money for health in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as England.

But he once again re-iterated his stance that the 17% pay rise the Royal College of Nursing had asked for was unaffordable, saying it would take money away from other parts of the NHS.

The money was announced in September, but there had been growing concerns among health managers that the funding had not yet reached the frontline.

Mr Barclay said it would come in two tranches - the first in early December and the second in late January.

The money has been earmarked to tackle delayed discharges - where patients who are ready to leave hospital cannot because of a lack of support in the community.

Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said: "Trust leaders will welcome reassurances from the health secretary that he has been batting on the NHS's behalf in negotiations with the Chancellor.