Moving onto the NHS, Jeremy Hunt says he knows how hard those in the healthcare sector work.
“The biggest issues are workforce shortages and pressures in the social care sector. So today I addressed them both,” he says.
Referring to himself in his former role as health and social care select committee chair, Mr Hunt notes that a proposal was put forward for a long-term healthcare workforce plan.
He tells MPs an independently verified plan for the number of doctors, nurses and other professionals needed in five, 10 and 15 years’ time will be implemented.
On social care, he says there are 1.6 million employees “working incredibly hard” under enormous struggles.
But he notes that he has “very real concerns” about whether local authorities will be able to deliver the Dilnot social care reforms “immediately”.
“So I will delay the implementation of this important reform for two years, allocating the funding to allow local authorities to provide more care packages,” he tells MPs.
Mr Hunt also confirms he has “decided to allocate for adult social care additional grant funding of £1bn next year and £1.7bn thereafter”.
He says combined with the savings from the delayed Dilnot reforms and more council tax flexibilities, this means an increase in funding available to the social care sector of up to £2.8bn next year and £4.7bn the year after.
“We want Scandinavian quality alongside Singaporean efficiency” in the NHS, Mr Hunt says.
He tells MPs he has asked former Labour health secretary Patricia Hewitt to help ensure new “integrated care boards” work properly.
The chancellor says the NHS budget will increase in each of the next two years by an extra £3.3bn which totals a “record £8bn package for our health and social care system” overall.
Source: Skynews.com