NHS funding faces biggest real-terms cuts since 1970s, warns IFS

Health spending in England to suffer 1.2% cut, worth 2bn, despite extra costs, thinktank's analysis finds

NHS funding faces the biggest cuts in real terms since the 1970s, an influential analysis shows, amid growing pressure on Jeremy Hunt to prioritise public service funding over tax cuts in the budget.

It comes as the Guardian has learned that the chancellor is planning to clamp down on the NHS's annual 4.6bn bill for agency workers who cover for doctor and nurse shortages at the frontline.