Rishi Sunak has refused to back calls to increase the health services budget in a bid to ease pressures on staff that have already led to strikes by nurses and ambulance workers, and could soon lead junior doctors to strike too.
Asked on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland if there was a possibility of a one-off increase in health spending, the Prime Minister added: “There is already record funding in the NHS … despite the tough decisions we’ve had to make to get a grip on borrowing and dealing with inflation.”
His comments on Friday reflected the Treasury’s refusal to provide additional money for a one-off settlement with health workers, despite Health Secretary Steve Barclay admitting privately that more money would be needed to end the strikes.
The Guardian revealed on Thursday that Barclay had admitted more than 1m frontline staff deserved more money, despite previously insisting the Government could not afford to go beyond the existing award of £1,400 for 2022-23.
But government sources say Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has ruled out using central government funds for any pay rise proposal and has instead told Barclay to find roughly £2-3bn from his department’s own budget.
Sunak also said he was open to looking at the UK’s visa system for health and social care workers to ensure it was working effectively. But he would not say that Brexit has increased the staffing pressures facing the health service.
The prime minister was speaking from Scotland, where he met First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in Inverness on Thursday evening. He said they discussed a range of issues, including the health service, but also Scottish independence.
The UK Supreme Court ruled last year that Holyrood did not have the power to hold a referendum without the UK government’s consent, a decision that angered the Scottish National Party and led to a surge in support for independence.
Sunak said the high court ruling made it “relatively clear” that Scotland did not have the power to hold a unilateral referendum. But he insisted he wanted a constructive relationship with Sturgeon and the SNP after several years of intermittently strained relations between the two governments.
Sunak also said he was “concerned” about the impact on the wider UK of changes to gender recognition legislation passed last month by the Holyrood parliament.
The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill will allow trans people to obtain a gender recognition certificate without the need for a medical diagnosis.
The prime minister refused to say whether Westminster would block the legislation, saying the government was taking advice on the matter “as is completely standard practice”.
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He added: “Obviously this is a very sensitive area and I know there was a lot of serious debate and exchange about it as the bill went through Scotland.
“There may be impacts in the UK that we need to be aware of and understand the impact of, and that’s what we’re doing, and once the government receives final advice it will set out the next steps.”
Stephen Flynn, SNP leader at Westminster, accused Sunak of “playing politics” on gender identity. He said it would be “absurd” if the rest of the UK chose not to recognize gender recognition certificates issued in Scotland.
Sunak also said Friday’s announcement of two new free ports for Scotland around the Cromarty Firth and the Firth of Forth was an example of Westminster and Holyrood working together effectively.
The Prime Minister said: “I look forward to having a constructive dialogue with the Scottish Government to ensure we can continue to fulfill our responsibilities to the people of Scotland. Today’s announcement of the two new free ports is a great example of how we are doing this.”
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