Bosses at Bradford and Airedale Primary Care Trust were handed a welcome funding boost yesterday after days of harsh cuts to councils, schools, police forces and transport projects.

But the extra cash for primary care trusts (PCTs) – a rise of at least two per cent – came amid growing controversy over the decision to axe them and hand budgets to groups of GPs instead.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley announced that £89 billion would go to PCTs for frontline services in 2011/12, of which £906.4 million would be spent in Bradford – a 2.2 per cent increase on the 2010/11 allocation.

Jane Hazelgrave, director of finance at NHS Bradford and Airedale, said: “We will be working through the detail of the budget allocation and the NHS operating framework so we can continue to invest in delivering the best possible patient care. In common with all primary care trusts we need to continue to manage our finances well and invest wisely in the local NHS to deal with budget pressures.

“We need to drive efficiencies from our existing spending to make sure that all our services deliver best value and high-quality care.”

The rises of between 2 and 2.2 per cent for each trust follows the decision to ‘ring fence’ NHS spending – in stark contrast to the axe wielded in recent weeks to other public services.

However, the NHS will be forced to find “efficiencies” of £20 billion over four years, which a committee of MPs has warned will be a daunting task.

Mr Lansley confirmed the Government would press ahead with the changes to PCTs, moving decision-making to GP commissioners, after receiving “overwhelming” backing in a 6,000-response consultation.

It means about £80 billion of work “commissioning” care will be transferred to groups of GPs by 2013, although much of it is expected to be contracted out to private health firms.

This week the King’s Fund think-tank, the Royal College of Nursing and Arthritis Care warned the changes were untried, too ambitious and being driven through at the wrong time.