NHS Funding: FAQs

The NHS is rapidly deteriorating, with waiting times for getting treatment increasing, operations being cancelled and our hospitals under serious strain. 38 Degrees members have campaigned for years across lots of campaigns to get our NHS more money.

Experts have stated that if the NHS is going to improve, it needs a funding increase of at least 4%. You can read more about this here.

For the NHS to get the money it needs, expert analysis says there will need to be an increase in taxes even if other measures are introduced. It means we might have to pay a little more to make sure our NHS improves, rather than continues to struggle.

You can read more about this here.

The NHS is rapidly deteriorating, with waiting times for getting treatment increasing, operations being cancelled and our hospitals under serious strain. 38 Degrees members have campaigned for years across lots of campaigns to get our NHS more money. We are not against reforms that could help the NHS take care of patients better, but the current funding gap means most services are under extreme pressures.

Experts have stated that if the NHS is going to improve, it needs a funding increase of at least 4%. You can read more about this here.

38 Degrees works better when more of us get involved, so together thousands of us voted for us to run campaign for a tax rise. Then together we voted on which tax policies that we liked the best, and now we’re focusing on getting this option in front of politicians.

You can read more on how many of us voted for each option, and what these options mean, here.

Research shows that while EU immigration contributes to financial pressure on the NHS, its annual impact is small compared to other factors. Also, 38 Degrees members haven’t prioritised this as a top concern when discussing how to fund our NHS.

You can read more on this here.

The system has changed over the years.

National Insurance is now used to pay for:

• The NHS
• Unemployment benefit
• Sickness and disability allowances
• The state pension

NI is supposed to be “ring fenced” – meaning the money raised is only used for these areas and won’t be spent on things like building schools or employing police officers.

However, the government can borrow from the National Insurance fund to help pay for other projects.

You can read more on this here.

We all have our own preferences when it comes to tax! One thing to note is that this tax will still higher earners pay a bigger proportion of tax on their salary.

If you have a query for 38 Degrees you can reach us at emailtheteam@38degrees.org.uk