Nick Robinson has condemned the Tory authorities for asserting main tax cuts whereas the NHS is in “disaster”.
The As we speak programme presenter rounded on well being secretary Victoria Atkins throughout an interview this morning.
He took situation with chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s determination to chop 4p off nationwide insurance coverage concurrently Rishi Sunak is failing to satisfy his promise to chop hospital ready lists.
Robinson requested the minister: “Why is your social gathering, the Conservative Occasion, promising billions of kilos in unfunded tax cuts at a time there’s a disaster within the NHS and a Conservative prime minister hasn’t even met the pledge that he made on coming to workplace?”
Atkins replied: “Nicely on the spring Price range the chancellor was not solely in a position to supply a second tax lower to working individuals in a row from the autumn assertion, including as much as some £900 or so for the common employee, however he was additionally in a position to make sure that an additional £2.5 billion has gone into day after day spending for the NHS.”
Robinson then hit again by asking what that extras spending meant “per affected person”.
When Atkins mentioned “we merely don’t measure NHS budgets in that means”, the presenter informed her: “I’ll provide the figures if I could.
“Between 2022 and 2024, well being spending underneath Treasury plans revealed in that Price range will fall – not improve – on common by 1.6% per yr per individual in actual phrases. So this isn’t an actual improve to the well being price range in any respect.”
The minister mentioned: “It very a lot is, we’re spending document quantities on the NHS.”
However Robinson then informed her: “We’re at all times spending document quantities due to inflation and an rising inhabitants, it’s a meaningless statistic.”
He added: “Why are you slicing taxes when the well being service wants extra money? Why are you not even spending on the dimensions that Margaret Thatcher did? She elevated spending by greater than 4% a yr in actual phrases, you might be planning – even if you happen to don’t permit for inhabitants improve – a rise of lower than 1% in actual phrases.”
However Atkinson insisted the federal government had not made “unfunded tax cuts”.
She mentioned: “The tax cuts that the chancellor put ahead, each at autumn assertion and it spring Price range, he’s been in a position to try this while balancing the books.”
The pair clashed as new figures had been anticipated to indicate ready lists coming down – however nonetheless greater than when Sunak grew to become prime minister.
