Better ways to fund the NHS | Letters

Readers respond to a report that British households will need to pay an extra 2,000 a year in tax to help the NHS cope with the demands of an ageing population

Nobody now disputes the need for a significant and sustained increase in revenue for the NHS and social care (Household tax bills 'must rise by 2,000 to fix crisis in NHS', 24 May). Rather, there are two political battles to be settled: how significant an increase the country feels it can afford, and from whom it wishes the additional revenue to be raised.

The first question can only be answered through an ongoing "strategic welfare review", conducted by the government along the lines of the present strategic defence review. Regular official long-term projections are required so that the country can be presented with a range of funding scenarios, based on different levels of service and accompanying outcomes it might expect from health and social care.

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