Hammond and Hunt in battle over NHS funding boost

Key health groups say NHS England needs a 4% annual budget increase to tackle the crisis in care provision.Jeremy Hunt and Philip Hammond are at loggerheads over how much more money the NHS should get to fulfil Theresa May’s pledge for a long-term funding deal to rescue the service.The health and social care secretary and chancellor have been competing for the prime minister’s backing for their starkly different visions of how much extra cash the beleaguered service in England needs.