Public sector pay: Sunak must come clean over “savage cuts” facing hospitals and schools

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called on Rishi Sunak to “come clean” with the public about the savage cuts facing local hospitals and schools because the government is refusing to provide enough funding for public sector pay rises.

It comes following reports that health, education and other departmental budgets are facing £3 billion of cuts to fund the pay rises.

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to guarantee that funding to fix crumbling hospital and school buildings will be ring-fenced, and to clarify whether the hospital building programme will be impacted by the cuts.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“Rishi Sunak is taking a wrecking ball to our public services with these savage cuts. He must come clean about the devastating impact this will have on local hospitals and schools across the country.

“The public deserves answers about where these cuts will fall and how many more Conservative promises will end up on the scrap heap.

“This could lead to more children being taught in crumbling classrooms and more patients being treated in buildings at risk of collapse. It will make the recruitment and retention of nurses and teachers even more difficult and blows a hole in the Government’s NHS workforce plan.

“The government doesn’t need to borrow money to do this, they could raise money by reversing tax cuts for the banks, introducing a proper windfall tax or clamping down on tax avoidance.”