Orders of the Day — National Health Service Contributions Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 8 May 1957.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mr Arthur Moyle Mr Arthur Moyle , Oldbury and Halesowen 12:00, 8 May 1957

This is the first time that a beneficiary under the National Health Service has been called upon to make a direct contribution. Of course we cannot run any service without somebody paying. Somebody has got to pay. We cannot provide for Clause 12 of the Finance Bill, which we discussed yesterday, and which proposes to give £ 25 million of relief from taxation to a certain section of the community, unless somebody pays for it. Anybody who understands the simplest principles of national finance knows that to provide that £ 25 million for a certain section of the community some other section has to pay it. As I have already said, it is the workers who are, by this Bill, called upon to pay the major part of that contribution, and of course it is a departure from principle. When this Bill is passed we shall not be able to say that the National Health Service is a free service. In referring to it as a free service I mean that a service which is financed by taxation and not by contributions.

I cannot see why the hon. Member for Putney (Sir H. Linstead), who has just spoken, should accept as a good thing the fact that five-sixths of the expenses of the service should be provided by the taxpayers but should break down on that one-sixth, which he seemed to think it was necessary others should provide. Why did he say that that was necessary? In order to make the workers realise, through paying contributions, that they cannot get something for nothing. There was a very patronising ring about that remark.