by Niall Christie

Scotland editor

EXPERTS have told the government that it must increase income tax, national insurance and VAT to secure the future of the NHS and social care across Britain. 

A report by the London School of Economics (LSE) and Political Science–Lancet Commission on the future of the NHS said that UK healthcare spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) is lower than average spend across other G7 countries.

It argued that the Covid pandemic has brought out the best and worst in the NHS — offering protection to people in different regions but showing poor integration between the NHS and social care, chronic underfunding of social care and too few staff.