Most Britons willing to pay extra tax to help fund NHS

Seven out of 10 Britons would be willing to pay an additional 1p in the pound in tax to help fund the NHS - while almost half (48%) would pay 2p, according to a new survey.

An extra penny on the basic rate of income tax would raise around £4.5 billion, and 70% of those questioned for ITV1's The Agenda said they would be happy to see a tax-hike on this scale if it was guaranteed that all the money would go to the NHS.

The results also found that almost half (46%) of Brits thought the current NHS was performing badly, with only 23% saying that it was performing well.

However, there was less appetite to raise extra funds for the health service by charging for specific treatments.

Just 27% of those questioned said they would be willing to pay £5 to see their GP, against 66% who said they would not. And if the cost was hiked to £10, only 15% would be happy to pay, while 79% said they would not.

Some 77% said they would not be ready to pay part of the cost of being treated in hospital as an out-patient, compared to 23% who said they would be willing to pay.

:: Survation questioned 1,002 British adults between October 10 and 12. The Agenda With Tom Bradby is broadcast on ITV1 at 8pm on Tuesday.