Up to 30,000 jobs are expected to be lost when NHS England is abolished and thousands of other jobs will be cut from the ICBs in England and corporate service posts in NHS trusts.

Analysis by The Observer of DHSC annual accounts shows nearly £450m has been paid in the past five years to staff in the department and its agencies who have taken voluntary or compulsory redundancy. These include 94 employees who each received more than £150,000 in the year to 31 March 2024.

In addition, the accounts reveal the average cost per employee of exit packages from it and its agencies that year was £48,840. Based on these figures, the next round of redundancies could cost between £700m and £1.2bn, The Observer concluded.

In response, a DHSC spokesperson, told The Guardian: ‘The figures claimed are based completely on speculation and not on fact.

'Our plans to bring the NHS back into the department will eliminate duplication, freeing up hundreds of millions of pounds for frontline care to deliver better treatment for patients.'