Andy Burnham has rejected Yvette Cooper’s plea for higher NHS pay as tensions rise among Cabinet ministers ahead of the Budget.
The Health Secretary asked the Treasury for hundreds of millions of pounds in extra funding for a pay deal for nurses and to free up resources for frontline care, amid warnings Labour will miss its signature waiting times target.
However, in an unusual move, the Prime Minister and Chancellor John Healey have jointly written to the Health Secretary to reject the plea.
They told her the pay rise must be funded within the existing budget, reports The Times.
Health unions representing NHS staff, including nurses, porters and midwives, argued they are being treated as “second-class” staff as they warned of further strike action.
Officials claimed that the NHS had lost hundreds of millions of pounds in revenue from the NHS surcharge, paid by foreigners living in the UK, as a result of Shabana Mahmood’s immigration crackdown.
This issue was compounded by higher-than-expected inflation, which has eaten into annual budget rises agreed with the Treasury last year.
Mrs Cooper made a direct appeal to Downing Street to intervene after she was initially rejected by the Treasury,
However, in an unexpected move, the Prime Minister wrote a joint letter to the Health Secretary, making it clear that no more money would be available to fund the pay rise because of pressure on public finances.
The only extra funding expected in the budget is a one-off temporary payment to help with winter pressures.
A government spokesman said: “This government is backing the NHS with record investment to get it back on its feet, cut waiting lists and ensure hardworking NHS staff are fairly rewarded.
“Since July 2024, waiting lists are down by over 251,000, and behind those numbers are hundreds of thousands of patients getting treated faster and no longer waiting in pain or uncertainty.
“This year we accepted the independent NHS Pay Review Body’s recommendation, delivering a 3.3 per cent pay rise for Agenda for Change staff from April, and we continue to work constructively with unions on improvements to the pay structure in addition to the pay award.”
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A Whitehall source said Mr Burnham’s response would require reopening existing health budget allocations, increasing pressure on hospitals as winter draws closer.
However, another source said the NHS would have to “live within its means”, accusing the Department for Health and Social Care of failing to deliver the efficiency savings it promised when it received a record £29billion funding boost in the last spending review.
The source told The Times: “Other departments have had to scrimp and save and just get on with it. But the NHS always thinks it is entitled to more and more money.”
GB News has contacted both the Department for Health and Social Care and the Treasury for comment.
The waiting list for hospital treatment in England continues to rise, figures suggest, despite the NHS delivering record levels of care.
An estimated 7.37 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of August, relating to 6.24 million patients, according to new NHS figures.
This is up from 7.33 million treatments and 6.21 million patients at the end of July.
The numbers are the highest since October 2025, when the list stood at 7.40 million treatments and 6.24 million patients.
An estimated 113,339 people were waiting more than a year to start routine treatment at the end of August, up from 111,379 at the end of July.
Labour has pledged that 92 per cent of patients in England will begin treatment within 18 weeks by the end of the current Parliament in 2029.
Currently, around 65 per cent are treated within this timeframe.
NHS England said a record 4.7 million (4,738,824) planned treatments, procedures and appointments occurred across June, July and August – more than in any previous summer.
National Medical Director, Professor Frankie Swords, praised staff for their efforts, adding there were now “ominous” signs of winter pressure building on the health service.
She said: “NHS staff have done fantastic work to deliver record levels of elective care this summer and now supporting the busiest September on record for A&E attendances and ambulance incidents. But now the focus is on the looming winter months ahead.
“Staff are already seeing the ominous early signs of pressure, with more patients coming to A&E with flu and other respiratory viruses than usual for this time of year, and unfortunately many people are still waiting longer than we would like them to.
“This is why it’s absolutely crucial to take up the offer of flu, RSV, Covid and other vaccinations if you’re eligible, to protect yourself, your family and the public.
“We all have our part to play, so please don’t wait for winter – come forward to your GP or pharmacy now and get protected.”
Mrs Cooper said: “Our NHS is dealing with summer pressures now as well as winter pressures.
“So it is a huge tribute to doctors, nurses and staff across the NHS that alongside dealing with unprecedented levels of A&E attendances and ambulance callouts, they also managed to deliver record numbers of elective appointments, procedures and treatments.
“Step by step, our NHS has been increasing its delivery and performance, making a real difference to patients’ lives even as demand is growing.
“But with winter now approaching, pressure on our NHS is set to increase again and I would encourage everyone who is eligible for the flu jab and other vaccines to get themselves protected against preventable illnesses, and help relieve the workload on the NHS too.”
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