Budget 2021: how much will the NHS receive, where will the money come from and what will it be used for?

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will announce the Budget this week, with the NHS set to receive billions of pounds.

But how much will the NHS receive and what will the money be used for?

Here’s what you need to know.

How much money will the NHS receive in the Budget?

The NHS in England is to receive an extra £5.9bn in this week’s Budget announcement, the government has said.

This is on top of the £12bn a year that was announced in September, with that money to be raised through tax increases, including the rise in National Insurance and, from 2022, the Health and Social Care Levy. It will be spent on resources such as staffing.

Where will the money come from?

Chancellor Rishi Sunak called the announcement "game-changing" and Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the funding was "new money", with Mr Sunak to set out exactly where it is coming from during the Budget and Spending Review on Wednesday (27 October).

What will the money be used for?

The money will be used to help clear the record backlog of people waiting for tests and scans, which has been worsened by the Covid pandemic.

More than five million people are currently waiting for NHS hospital treatment in England, with hundreds of thousands waiting more than a year.

The money will also be used to buy equipment and improve IT.

The £5.9bn will be used to pay for physical infrastructure and equipment, but not day-to-day spending.

The Government said that £2.3bn of the total £5.9bn will be used to fund more diagnostic tests, such as CT, MRI and ultrasound scans.

More clinics in shopping centres for scans and tests will also be opened in order to help clear the backlog of tests by the end of this Parliament, the government said.

Also included in the £5.9bn total is £1.5bn on beds, equipment and new "surgical hubs" and £2.1bn on improving IT and digital technology within the NHS.

A proportionate amount of the money will also go to the health services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

What is the Budget?

Each year, the Chancellor of the Exchequer makes the Budget statement to the House of Commons “outlining the state of the economy and the Government’s proposals for changes to taxation,” explains the UK Parliament website.

The House of Commons then debates the Budget and scrutinises the Finance Bill, which enacts the Chancellor’s proposals.

The Budget is a statement made to the House of Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, on the nation’s finances and the Government’s proposals for changes to taxation.

The Budget also includes forecasts for the economy by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).