Bank Fines To Help Pay For £3bn NHS Boost

Chancellor George Osborne says he plans to use bank fines to improve family doctors' services.

In his Autumn Statement on Wednesday, Mr Osborne is expected to announce that the move will provide an extra £1.1bn to be spent over four years and would come from bank fines levied on financial institutions for foreign exchange manipulation.

It is in addition to a further £2bn he will use to help make the NHS more efficient for taxpayers and more effective for patients.

He says that cash injection is possible because the economy is growing and that under his stewardship the Government has brought the public finances under control. "If you have a strong economy you can have a strong NHS," the Chancellor said on Sunday.

In November, five banks were fined a total of £1.1bn by the Financial Conduct Authority for Forex fiddling.

The idea of using bank fines to pay for NHS improvements was first suggested by shadow chancellor Ed Balls in a speech earlier this month.

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham welcomed the plans but said it would not help GPs and A&E departments already struggling this winter.

He said: "Of course, more money will help but it won't solve the problems that I've been describing - the crisis in the NHS is very real indeed. This money will help but will be nowhere near enough."

Mr Burnham told Sky News that Labour would provide an additional £2.5bn a year for the NHS over and above what Mr Osborne had pledged.

Mr Osborne's announcement follows the publication of the five-year 'Forward View' plan drawn up by the NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens which warned of a looming £8bn funding shortfall by the end of the next parliament.

Mr Stevens welcomed Mr Osborne's plans and said: "Today represents an extremely welcome vote-of-confidence in the NHS’ own five-year plan."

Mr Osborne is expected to endorse the Stevens proposals as the best way to deliver "a world class and universal NHS that is sustainable for the long term".

:: Watch Sky News for the Chancellor's Autumn Statement live on Wednesday, 3 December, on Sky (LSE: BSY.L - news) channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.