Should we all pay more income tax to fund the NHS for the next decade?

That was the recommendation of two think-tanks in a report issued yesterday. The Health Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies said British taxpayers will need to find an average of £2,000 a year extra to properly fund the NHS.

However, there were mixed views on the issue in Worcestershire.

Retired GP Dr Sylvia Chandler is a member of the Worcestershire branch of Keep Our NHS Public.

She said: “About 80 per cent of NHS funding comes from general taxation, and our position is that it is better to fund it from that than from a hypothecated tax.

"Surveys show the British people are willing to pay more for a free, well-funded and comprehensive health service.”

Campaigner James Morris-Knight, from It’s Our NHS Worcestershire disagreed.

He said: “There should be more spending on the NHS, but I don’t think it should come from everybody’s income tax. The government should put up corporation tax to the levels it was at before 2010, and they should close all the loopholes companies use to avoid tax and that’s where the money could come from. The burden shouldn’t fall on the ordinary population.”

John Smith, Conservative cabinet member for health and well-being, Worcestershire County Council, said: "I think national insurance is the best source. Health and social care are demand-led services and demand is just going up, and the pressures are getting greater, on all health and care services, not just the NHS.

“Something does need to be done, and I would like to see all politicians from all the parties sit down, and not score political points and have a sensible discussion for how we fund the NHS in the future.”

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which commissioned the report and represents 85 per cent of NHS bodies, said: “This report is a wake-up call. And its message is simple – if we want good, effective and safe services, we will have to find the resources to pay for them.”

Paul Johnson, the director of IFS and an author of the report, said: "If we are to have a health and social care system which meets our needs and aspirations, we will have to pay a lot more for it over the next 15 years. This time we won’t be able to rely on cutting spending elsewhere – we will have to pay more in tax. But it is a choice: higher taxes and a health and social care system which meets our expectations and improves over time, or taxes at current levels and a more constrained health service delivering less than we have become accustomed to.”