“A modest extension of existing powers”? : Charitable fundraising for the British NHS and the impact of the Health Services Act, 1980

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Harris, Bernard and Cresswell, Rosemary (2026) “A modest extension of existing powers”? : Charitable fundraising for the British NHS and the impact of the Health Services Act, 1980. Journal of Policy History, 27 (2). ISSN 1528-4190 (In Press) (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0898030626100657)

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Abstract

In 1946, the Minister of Health for England and Wales, Aneurin Bevan, argued that it was “repugnant” for hospitals to rely on private charity, and that it should end immediately. However, charity continued to play an important role after the National Health Service was created and this trend accelerated after the Health Services Act was passed in 1980. This paper uses archival sources and published reports to investigate the history of charitable fundraising for NHS hospitals, the background to the Health Services Act, and its impact. During the NHS’s opening decades, both Labour and Conservative governments welcomed the contribution made by voluntary donations whilst also keeping it at arm’s length. The election of a new Conservative government in 1979 marked a decisive break with this approach, as ministers sought to unlock the potential for private giving as a way of reducing public expenditure and responding to growing health service costs.

ORCID iDs

Harris, Bernard ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7118-1118 and Cresswell, Rosemary ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5203-7994;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)