TO CELEBRATE the 70th anniversary of our National Health Service, the Prime Minister has announced a new five-year funding boost to accompany the new 10-year plan.

The five-year funding boost will see an additional £20 billion invested in the NHS by 2023/4 – an average increase of 3.4 per cent each year for five years, or £394 million more each week, in real terms. This represents the biggest cash boost in the NHS’s history.

But money alone is not what the NHS needs and whilst previous Labour Governments have just thrown money into the NHS with little long-term consideration, we will also be implementing an efficiency plan to ensure that every pound spent on the NHS is used efficiently and appropriately on vital frontline healthcare and facilities.

This is more money than Labour promised in its manifesto, and will come from a combination of sources, including a large chunk from the money that we will no longer be sending to the EU once we have left, as well as a slight rise in taxes and borrowing. The full details will be set out in the Autumn Budget.

This boost will help our health service to realise its 10-year plan, which the Government is working on in conjunction with health leaders. The focus of this longer term plan will be on training more doctors and nurses, improving cancer survival rates and providing better mental health care, to make sure that our children and future generations will be able to access the same world-class healthcare, free at the point of use, that we enjoy today.

Away from Westminster, I began a busy Friday last week with a visit to Grant UK at the Hopton Estate in Devizes. Grant Engineering is a market leading heating manufacturer of oil boilers and renewable heating solutions, and employs 76 people in the town. I was delighted to formally open their new £1.7m building and join local businesses such as Gaigers, who are part of the Grant success story.

Meeting our legally binding target of reducing emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050 will require decarbonising nearly all heat in buildings and most industrial processes. To do this we need to start phasing out the most carbon intensive forms of heating. This will cut the cost of energy, drive economic growth, create high value jobs across the UK and improve our quality of life. As Minister for Energy and Clean Growth I’m especially grateful to Neil Sawers and the Grant UK team for continuing to keep me updated on challenges and opportunities in the sector.