The Conservative leadership frontrunner told a rally on Tuesday night that she would spend the £13bn earmarked for the NHS to catch up with the post-Covid treatment delay gap in social care. He said: “I would spend that money on social care. A lot has gone into the NHS. I would give it to the local agencies. We have people in NHS beds who would be better off in social care. So put that money into social care. “We’re putting in the extra £13bn and what people who work in the NHS tell me is that the problem is the number of layers in the organization they have to go through to get things done, the lack of local decision-making. That’s what people tell me is the problem, not the lack of funding.” Richard Murray, the chief executive of the King’s Fund, a health thinktank, praised Truss for his attention to social care, saying the ongoing lack of funding had left England with a system that was failing many people, but said the The NHS also needs funding. “Liz Truss’ comments are a welcome acknowledgment that a lack of social care capacity is having a negative impact on other health and care services, but it is difficult to see how the NHS could remove this funding without affecting the standards of care patients receive . ” he said. “The unfortunate reality for whoever becomes prime minister is that robbing Peter to pay Paul is not a viable solution to the health and care crisis.” The £13 billion, to be raised from higher National Insurance (NI) levies introduced under Boris Johnson, was always meant to be transferred to social care in the coming years, but in the short term is being made available to help the NHS recover from the effects of pandemic. Truss said she would scrap the NI increase and find the extra funding from general taxation, but said it would have to go to social care. It comes after it was revealed that Truss authored a paper in 2009 advocating the introduction of charges for patients to see their GP and a 10% cut in doctors’ fees. He wrote an op-ed alongside it arguing for NHS cuts, saying the health service “can’t be put on a pedestal”. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Labor disputed Mr Truss’ comments about money being diverted from the NHS to social care. Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, has highlighted the intense pressure the NHS is under even before winter sets in. “When the NHS is facing its biggest crisis in its history, the last thing it needs is a prime minister who has called for cuts to the budget, charging patients to see a doctor and slashing doctors’ pay,” he said. “There is no doubt that we need to recruit more care workers to reduce the pressure on the NHS and ensure residents are well looked after. Labor will recruit and retain more carers by ensuring full rights at work, decent standards, fair pay and proper training as the first step towards building a national care service.’
