How will the extra cash for the NHS be spent?

The Department of Health and Social Care has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (56363):

Question:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of the ÂŁ36 billion announced by the Government to tackle waiting lists as a result of the covid19 outbreak will be spent on the salaries of additional medical staff. (56363)

Tabled on: 15 October 2021

This question was grouped with the following question(s) for answer:

  1. To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional nurses and doctors he plans to recruit for his Department’s waiting list initiatives. (56708)
    Tabled on: 15 October 2021

Answer:
Edward Argar:

The Department is working closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop a plan for how that funding will be used, including the recruitment and salaries of additional medical staff.

The answer was submitted on 22 Oct 2021 at 10:44.

49 Comments

  1. Ian Wragg
    December 1, 2021

    The posts advertised are for more managers and support staff not front line staff.
    More top heavy jobs for the boys, patients are such a nuisance.

    1. Ian Wragg
      December 1, 2021

      I see the department of business closures is refusing to guarantee a return on 1.6gw of efficient CCGT which is mothballed.
      Once again Civil Serpents procedure put before common sense.
      These 2 station at Severn and Sutton Bridge could make all the difference but hey ho just build more useless windmills.
      Trump had the right idea.

    2. Tesla Gurl
      December 2, 2021

      So you don’t think we should waste money on administrators? You think people should just turn up at GPs and hospitals and queue? No need for an appointment, that’s just bureaucracy eh

      1. Peter2
        December 2, 2021

        You talk in absolutes TG
        Who said no admin staff at all ?

      2. Doctor John
        December 2, 2021

        Good administrators, yes. But the NHS is riddled with ineffectual administrators and I have seen this first hand. It is time for reform and a target setting for administrators.

  2. Micky Taking
    December 1, 2021

    So one week later the answer is ‘no idea, we will have to discuss it’.
    Brilliant.

    1. Mark B
      December 2, 2021

      You would think that, when needing more money you would have identified FIRST on what you were going to spend it on, wouldn’t you ?

      It is like looking at the Labour government of the 1970’s – Just throw more cash at it and hope the problem / moaning goes away.

      1. JoolsB
        December 2, 2021

        Totally agree Mark. Just keep chucking more and more taxpayers money at the problem without bothering to identify the problem has always been the response of wasteful socialist Governments, this one included.

  3. MickN
    December 1, 2021

    Does medical staff include all the diversity directors they were advertising for the other day?

  4. Sir Joe Soap
    December 1, 2021

    Again let’s shovel taxpayers’ cash into the NHS black hole and hope it helps. For goodness sake, let’s change this rotten 3 party system by introducing number 4.

    1. Micky Taking
      December 1, 2021

      and make membership of the first three illegal?

    2. graham1946
      December 2, 2021

      It’s impossible. Nigel’s party got 4 million votes and one retained seat. Scots Nats get less and form a government.

      1. Micky Taking
        December 2, 2021

        ‘form a government’ – – -or a spending machine …..oh! ummm… looking at Westmonster…

  5. Everhopeful
    December 1, 2021

    I suppose there is a big difference between what they actually spend the money on and what they should spend it on.
    I’d put my money on huge batches of every ooky vaccine under the sun and hot tubs. Oh and draylon upcycled seating in every waiting room.

    HOW many excess non covid deaths this year? Everyone comfortable with that?

  6. Ed M
    December 1, 2021

    Can I wish everyone Happy Advent, one thing being we can now play Christmas Music like the BEAUTIFUL + POWERFUL Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (Bach: Christmas Oratorio BWV 248, part 1/2).
    This music sums up what traditional Christianity attempts to do on the world, to bring: ORDER, MYSTERY, BEAUTY, HOLY POWER, PEACE, JOY, EXCITEMENT, CIVILISATION, LOVE, etc ..
    It was lovely, devout traditional Christians (mixed with the best of the Greco-Roman world which Traditional Christianity has always integrated as being part of the spirit of Traditional Christianity), like the great Bach, that gave us Oxford, Salisbury Cathedral, Salzburg, Mozart, Parliament, The Renaissance, Guilds / Work Ethic, Family Values, Shakespeare, The Judiciary, Da Vinci, Sir Isaac Newton, The Monarchy, Patriotism, and so on. Where there is hierarchy but those at the bottom aren’t envious of those at the top and work hard and those at the top don’t look down on those at the bottom and are as fair-minded as possible in employment and everything else.

    For God, Family, Queen and Country

    1. Ed M
      December 2, 2021

      ‘the best of the Greco-Roman world’ i.e. Roman Architecture / Engineering / Law / Administration, Homer, Plato, Aristotle, the finest qualities of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and others etc as opposed to cruelty of Roman Emperors such as Nero and Commodus, Roman traditions of incest, indulging the mob and so on.

  7. Everhopeful
    December 1, 2021

    In an NHS hospital (torn down for housing) where a relative worked, they did away with their “infection policy” in favour of bubble bath.( No idea what they did with it but…)
    No wonder we are where we are now!

  8. Everhopeful
    December 1, 2021

    But…but…aren’t the infinitely wise ones planning to sack a load of NHS staff for non submission to the jab?
    Why is govt so keen to save us with a jab when they reduce staff and withhold healthcare?
    Why do they believe that the jab has any bearing whatsoever on anyone other than the jabbed?

    Is the idea to take on more staff at lower rates?

    1. Everhopeful
      December 1, 2021

      Ah ha!
      Is govt. desperate to jab us because if we all got sick nobody would be able to work and the economy would crash and hospitals would have to close and there’d be no dentists open, no vets, no local shops.. and…and…
      Oh!!

      1. Mark B
        December 2, 2021

        +1

        I just keep asking myself, Everhopeful; “When will this madness end ?” I really do !

  9. alan jutson
    December 1, 2021

    Once again what a stupid answer, the correct one is:

    We have absolutely no idea, but it sounds good !

    I despair, I absolutely despair.

    Thanks for asking the question JR.

  10. Donna
    December 1, 2021

    The response basically means “we haven’t got a scooby-doo.”

    Which conveniently also sums up this Government’s entire programme. What a useless bunch of Peppa Pigs they are.

    1. Mark B
      December 2, 2021

      +1

  11. Iain Gill
    December 1, 2021

    the answer is funny

    a complete non answer

    not even an estimate

    clueless

    1. Mark B
      December 2, 2021

      +1

  12. glen cullen
    December 1, 2021

    So lets rise taxes, collect revenue, allocate budgets, announce spend, than and only than decide what you’re going to do with the funds…..crazy

  13. Beecee
    December 1, 2021

    So the Department has no concept of planning and budgetary control – give us a huge chunk of money then we shall tell you how we have spent it!
    I wish I could be so frivolous with other peoples money knowing that I shall never be held to account.

    Incompetents – all of them!

    1. Mark B
      December 2, 2021

      +1

  14. formula57
    December 1, 2021

    So we learn about the Department of Health as we have learnt about other parts of this Government: no-one is in charge, no-one knows, no-one has a grip on matters – but there is plenty of money to splash around or at least announce will be so splashed. It might fool some of the people for a while, but likely not enough.

  15. Oldwulf
    December 1, 2021

    “The Department of Health and Social Care has provided the following answer …”

    and

    “The Department is working closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop a plan … ”

    It is not entirely clear to me why we have three Government Departments and what roles are performed by each of those departments in order to develop only one plan.

    1. Oldwulf
      December 2, 2021

      Sir .. was your question addressed to the wrong person ?

      Maybe the “plan” has already been devised by Mr Sunak and HM Treasury. After all, they decided exactly how much extra money is to be extracted from us taxpayers.

  16. rick hamilton
    December 2, 2021

    What kind of management agrees to allocate a huge amount of money and then thinks about what to spend it on ? The bureaucratic tail is wagging the elected dog.

    Just paying GPs per patient seen would increase productivity overnight. This government has no understanding of incentives, just more and more regulation.

  17. ChrisS
    December 2, 2021

    Yet another case of a government throwing shed loads of our money at the NHS just for the sake of it.
    This has been going on since Blair and Brown and has led to billions being poorly spent or wasted.

    The NHS must stop being considered to be a sacred cow, it is a public service like any other. If it wants extra cash, is needs to prepare a case with specific agreed outcomes in return for the money and those that design and then manage the implementation of the programme must remain acccountable for how the cash is spent and the measurment of the results against their plan. Failure must lead to sackings.

    No shareholders of any business would possibly put up with their money being spent like this !
    Nor should we.

    1. Nottingham Lad Himself
      December 2, 2021

      It does not give such good outcomes or value for money as some countries on the Continent do, certainly.

      That could easily be used as a pretext to scrap it, and it would be justified, if the same system as is used in one of those countries were introduced to replace it.

      However, we *know* that that would not be done, and that what would be introduced instead would not be one of those, but rather, some US/Tufton Street right wing “think tank” – pressure group actually – doctrinaire mish-mash, which would be desperately WORSE in both regards, as is the US “system”.

      You raise points which do require proper analysis though.

      Perhaps it would be best to wait until the country has a proper government – if it ever does again.

      1. Micky Taking
        December 2, 2021

        ‘It does not give such good outcomes or value for money as some countries on the Continent do’.
        Ridiculous remarks, broad unsubstantiated, pipe-dreaming nonsense.
        Evidence please, not wild childish green-field postulating.

        1. Nottingham Lad Himself
          December 3, 2021

          Oh well, it must be the best in the world then, so let’s keep it.

      2. Peter2
        December 3, 2021

        Even gentle reform towards the models of the current best world Heath systems is not going to happen under Labour nor Conservative government.
        The NHS is a religion and change or reform is a heresy.
        All that will be done is to donate ever more billions.

  18. Lindsay McDougall
    December 2, 2021

    During the election campaign the Prime Minister spoke of 50,000 additional nurses. Is there any reason to depart from that? What is the unit cost? At a guess, ÂŁ30,000 per annum each plus training costs and overheads. The salary portion alone is therefore ÂŁ1,500 million per annum. Double that gives ÂŁ3 billion per annum. It might well be more. Therefore, the question to ask is “How many years is the ÂŁ36 billion meant to cover?”.

  19. Mark B
    December 2, 2021

    Good morning – again

    It will be wasted along with all the rest.

    1. Micky Taking
      December 3, 2021

      Distributed among the mates of the circle – – don’t call that a waste – there is a better word for it!

  20. Mark B
    December 2, 2021

    Ademdum

    Sir John

    Since they do not know what to do with the money, would it be better to say; “Well since you really do not need it, we’re take it back !”

  21. Bryan Harris
    December 2, 2021

    What a joke! They can’t even answer a simple question.

    CLEARLY THEY DO NOT KNOW.

    Is this rank stupidity or rank incompetence — or are they deliberately keeping data from scrutiny?

  22. Denis Cooper
    December 2, 2021

    Off topic, according to EU negotiator Maros Sefcovic the benefits of the Irish protocol are “immense”:

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/maros-sefcovic-brexit-european-commission-government-executive-committee-b969483.html

    “… the benefits of the protocol are “immense”, offering Northern Ireland access to EU and UK markets.”

    So we are to suppose that businesses in the rest of the UK now have no access at all to the EU market, they have been completely cut off from that market, they can no longer sell any of their products in the EU; but because the Prime Minister, recently described as “passionate about the United Kingdom”, decided to leave Northern Ireland behind under EU economic rule for the sake of his “fantastic” trade deal with the EU the small minority of businesses in the province who are used to exporting goods to the EU are free to carry on doing so without too much formality, and that is an “immense” benefit, like the “fantastic” trade deal.

    1. Nottingham Lad Himself
      December 3, 2021

      When a bunch of lunatics jump off a cliff, then reasonable people are content to be “left behind”, and walk away to safety.

      1. Peter2
        December 3, 2021

        So you still believe the UK is cut off from European markets NHL
        You need to do some checking.

  23. William Long
    December 2, 2021

    I find it incredible that the House of Commons should have voted to pay this money to the NHS in the absence of any plan as to how it should be spent and therefor without any knowledge of whether it was actually needed. MPs are there to provide a check on the profligacy of Ministers, not just to sign blank cheques in their favour.

  24. Ed M
    December 2, 2021

    If the BBC wants to do something useful, then it could put together an interesting and creative body of programmes (from the arts to nature to science and so on) about what a wonderful thing the human body is and how to look after it. If people looked after their bodies and minds more, through more healthy eating and exercise, this could save the NHS billions and billions and save the country hours and hours and hours in productivity.
    Eating healthily and taking good exercise also makes people HAPPIER as fills the brain with happy chemicals. Which in turn has positive psychological affects in addition to. This, in turn, reduces crime, makes people more creative, improves their s-x lives and relationships in general. The benefits are endless.
    People should be free to eat what they want and take no exercise. But that does not mean we’re not allowed to encouraged to help people eat more healthy and take more exercise – something that ALL can participate in, rich and poor.
    I strongly believe government has to look more creatively into how to prevent ill health as opposed to just focusing on how to deal with it when it happens.

  25. glen cullen
    December 3, 2021

    “Director of Equality and Inclusion” at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, who’ll start early next year on a minimum wage of ÂŁ93,735 – order order
    Thats were all the money goes

Comments are closed.