Gary Porter, Conservative MP and imminent new head of the Local Government Association, has called on the Prime Minister to stop increasing NHS budgets at the expense of unprotected areas of spending, claiming some Councils were likely to fail under new cuts.

According to the FT, Mr Porter said “no one thought the NHS was providing value for money.” This is confirmed by a Government commissioned report, led by Lord Carter of Coles, which revealed in June 2015 that the NHS could save up to £5bn a year by 2019/20 if there is political and managerial commitment to change the way it works.

The report highlighted that £2 billion could come from better management of the workforce, annual leave and sickness absence in particular, and an additional £3 billion could be saved through improvements to purchasing supplies and use of medicines.

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