NHS pay rises will cost £4bn and will be funded from ‘areas of underspending’, govt says

The government needs to find £4bn in spare cash to fund NHS pay rises, with some of it coming from "areas of underspend".

The one-off payment offered to frontline workers on Thursday will cost £2.7bn, Downing Street has said, while the 5% pay rise will cost £1.3bn.

A 3.5% pay rise had already been factored into the existing budget before a new deal was put to health unions, leaving ministers scrambling to find the rest.

Asked where the money will come from, the PM's spokesperson said "areas of underspending" had been identified.

They did not go into specifics but added "we will discuss with Treasury and work together to resolve any new funding needs".

Pressed on the source of the funding again, they said the money is "not coming from patient-facing services".

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