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NHS extra £20bn funding to come from tax hike says May
Theresa May said the government planned to provide the NHS an extra £394m a week, funded from increased tax contributions.
May gave a speech on Monday, following up on TV appearances over the weekend, but admitted the extra £20bn in funding by 2023 for the health system would be funded by tax rises rather than purely from a "Brexit dividend", meaning money that would no longer be payed to the EU.
"The NHS will be growing significantly faster than the economy as a whole, reflecting the fact that the NHS is this government's number one spending priority."
She added: "Some of the extra funding I am promising will come from using the money we will no longer spend on our annual membership subscription to the European Union after we have left."
But she conceded that "taxpayers will have to contribute a bit more in a fair and balanced way to support the NHS we all use".
Minister Jeremy Hunt also said on Monday there would have to be an "increased burden of taxation" to fund the 3.4% average annual rises in NHS budget.
Economists say it is unlikely there will be a Brexit dividend before 2023 since the UK will continue to pay the EU during transition and into the 2020s.
Earlier this year, Chancellor Philip Hammond warned that public spending could not increase due to the economic uncertainty the UK was suffering over Brexit.
In her speech Theresa May said the long-term plan for the NHS should include plans for mental health and social care. She also said she wanted the UK to be at the forefront of the revolution of how artificial intelligence can transform healthcare.
May added that the NHS should work towards reducing the dependence on doctors from countries where medical staff are in short supplies.