Philip Hammond, the chancellor, will have welcomed the recommendations made by the International Monetary Fund under Christine Lagarde

Taxes should rise to pay for the government’s £20 billion gift for the NHS, the International Monetary Fund has said as it urged Britain not to take a chance with the public finances.

Britain’s national debt remains “relatively high” and bringing it down “is important to create buffers that will allow the public finances to weather future shocks”, the world’s financial and economic watchdog said in its annual health check on the UK economy.

Its recommendations will be welcomed in the Treasury, which is intent on shrinking the debt as a share of GDP. It is also expected to raise taxes in the autumn budget to pay for the additional health spending announced earlier this year.

However, the IMF’s proposals went further than the chancellor