HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ

Dr Katherine Henderson
President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine
7-9 Breams Buildings
London
EC4A 1DT

9 December 2020

Dear Dr Henderson,
Thank you for your letter of 19 November to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
I am replying as the HM Treasury Minister responsible for public services. The Government is incredibly grateful for the contribution made by you and the colleagues you represent, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NHS is the Government’s key spending priority and that is why it has committed to a historic settlement that provides a cash increase of £33.9 billion a year by 2023-24. This takes the NHS budget from £114.6 billion in 2018-19 to £148.5 billion in 2023-24, with a £6.3 billion uplift next year. The recent Spending Review also confirmed an additional £3 billion to the NHS in 2021-22 to support its recovery, and recommitted to the manifesto commitment of 50,000 more nurses.

The Government has made significant additional investments in the health and care system this year in order to respond to COVID-19. HM Treasury has approved £52 billion for frontline health services to respond to the pandemic in 2020-21, including £9.5 billion of extra revenue funding to the NHS. This funding has enabled the NHS to increase its capacity in order to cope with both COVID-19 cases and the delivery of routine services.

The Government has also allocated £1.5 billion of additional capital funding to the NHS in 2020-21, including £450 million for 142 A&E upgrades ahead of winter to improve infection control and increase capacity.

The Government remains committed to ensuring that public services across the UK have the resources they need to continue tackling the virus, and £55 billion was provided at the Spending Review to deliver this commitment in 2021-22.

Yours sincerely,

RT HON STEVE BARCLAY MP