May must consider tax rises to fund NHS and social care, say MPs - The Guardian

May must consider tax rises to fund NHS and social care, say MPs - The Guardian Theresa May is under mounting pressure to consider tax rises to fund Britain’s creaking health and social care system, as a group of high-powered MPs on Monday call for a new commission to recommend money-raising measures.

Among the signatories to a letter to the prime minister are 21 select committee chairs who are urging May to set up a year-long “parliamentary commission”, echoing the approach taken after the banking bailouts.

Sarah Wollaston, MP for Totnes and chair of the health and social care committee, said: “We call on the government to act with urgency and to take a whole system approach to the funding of the NHS, social care and public health. On behalf of all those who rely on services, we need to break down the political barriers and to agree a way forward.” The Guardian

See also:

• An NHS tax would make the public question whether the health service is really worth what we pay for it The Telegraph
• How should we pay for the NHS? BBC News
• NHS finances in 'perilous state', says damning Public Accounts Committee report The Independent