Since I last answered questions in this House, the Government have announced: half a billion pounds for a fair pay agreement for care workers; NHS Online, the first ever online-only hospital trust; and £80 million for children’s hospices. We have announced an independent inquiry into maternity services in Leeds, introduced Jess’s rule, implemented online requests for GP appointments, opened the 100th community diagnostic centre, made the chickenpox vaccine available on the NHS, and published NHS league tables—a lot done; a lot more to do.
We promised 2 million more appointments, and we have delivered 5 million, along with 2,000 extra GPs, 6,500 more mental health workers, 7,000 more doctors, and 13,000 more nurses and midwives. The cancer diagnosis standard has been met, GP satisfaction is up and waiting lists are down. The brand-new Midland Metropolitan University hospital has opened in my constituency. Does the Secretary of State agree that this is the difference that a Labour Government make, and that we are only just getting started?
Why stop there? We have 15,000 more home adaptations for disabled people through the disabled facilities grant and 135,000 more suspected cancer patients receiving a diagnosis on time. We have more than 200,000 cases off the waiting list, £500 million for the first ever fair pay agreement for care workers and the biggest uplift in carer’s allowance for a generation. The Tories did not do it, and Reform would undo it. That is the difference that a Labour Government make.
First, it is great to be in this new role. I genuinely want to be part of a constructive Opposition, but equally I want to do my role in holding this Government to account. I note the lack of detail in the Secretary of State’s answers on reorganisation, so can I ask the basics again? How many people will be made redundant, what will it cost and who is paying?
I welcome the shadow Secretary of State to his place. It is good to hear from the Conservative Front Benchers; I had almost forgotten they existed. The Conservatives created a complex web of bureaucracy. It is a bit rich to complain we are not abolishing their creation quickly enough. We have had a number of expressions of interest in voluntary redundancy across my Department, NHS England and the integrated care boards, and we are working through that as we speak.
Again, the Secretary of State cannot answer. His answers are too vague. He is very good at making promises, but the facts are that he is presiding over a reorganisation that has stalled, creating uncertainty for staff. Waiting lists are up 50,000 in the past three months, hospices are in crisis because of national insurance contribution rises, and we have had strikes again—despite big pay rises—with the threat of more. If the Secretary of State wants the leadership in the future, perhaps he should show leadership in the NHS now, and tell us not just the plans, but when he will give the details and how he will deliver on his promises to patients.
Waiting lists are lower now than when Labour took office, and that is in stark contrast with the record of the Government in which the shadow Secretary of State served; waiting lists increased every single year they were in charge. This is the first year in 15 that waiting lists have fallen. That is the difference that a Labour Government make. We are only just getting started. As for leadership changes, we all know why they are calling the Leader of the Opposition “Kemi-Kaze”.
T4. A Channel 4 “Dispatches” documentary recently went undercover at an ambulance centre in my constituency of Gillingham and Rainham. It showed exhausted staff working under difficult circumstances—the result of years of Tory neglect and mismanagement of our NHS. Does my right hon. Friend agree that after the chaos under the last Government, this Administration will put staff and patients first? Will the relevant Minister come to my constituency to meet healthcare providers and discuss our local challenges?
We know that there have been issues with the urgent emergency care response. We are absolutely committed to supporting ambulance trusts to continually improve the patient experience. The urgent emergency care plan for 2025-26 is backed by nearly £450 million of funding. I am happy to discuss that further with my hon. Friend.
Every year we come here to discuss the winter crisis in the NHS, but this summer saw record waits at accident and emergency, with more than 74,000 12-hour trolley waits in June and July. That used to be unheard of. With winter looming and the potential for the A&E permacrisis to be even worse this year, what package of emergency measures is the Secretary of State putting in place to ensure that patients are not left to suffer on trolleys or worse in our hospital corridors this winter?
The hon. Lady is absolutely right to point out that the NHS is already running hot ahead of winter. We brought forward our winter planning for this year to get ahead. We are making sure that all NHS trusts and systems have developed plans that have been tested regionally. The flu vaccination programme is well under way, the autumn covid-19 vaccination began on 1 October, and we are driving improvements in urgent and emergency care. This will be a challenging winter—we are not complacent about that—but we are getting the system ready for it.
T5. After years of watching dentists in Cumbria turn their backs on the NHS contract and move those patients who can afford it to private plans, my constituency is now an NHS dental desert. Can the Minister confirm when the Government will publish their response to the consultation on quality and payment reforms, and tell us what we can expect to see in it?
As my hon. Friend will know, the consultation closed on 19 August. We are now considering the outcomes, and expect to publish a response very shortly. These reforms will improve support for patients with complex or urgent needs by better incentivising dentists to deliver this care on the NHS.
T2. Moya Cole, in Heald Green, is a shining example of a hospice that does fantastic work in a very tough economic situation, but it should not have to rely on coffee mornings and jumble sales to fund its most essential services. Liberal Democrat research findings show that almost a half of hospices in the United Kingdom are planning cuts this year. Will the Government commit themselves to funding our hospices properly in the upcoming Budget so that they do not need to cut the vital services that they provide?
I did not hear the hon. Gentleman welcome the fact that we provided £100 million—an unprecedented amount—in capital funding for hospices, and £26 million a year and £80 million over three years for children’s hospices. We recognise that hospices benefit from being rooted in their communities, with amazing charity and philanthropy support, but of course we know that the Government need to do their bit as well, and that is precisely what we were doing. I was very pleased to visit Noah’s Ark children’s hospice in Barnet last week and to speak to the chief executive, who warmly welcomed the stability and certainty that the three-year allocation has provided.
T6. After a decade of under-investment in our NHS under the Conservatives, I welcome the progress that has been made on reducing A&E waiting times under this Government, but there is no immediate fix. Just last month, a coffee shop at the William Harvey hospital in Ashford was converted into an emergency ward to treat A&E patients. Will the Secretary of State visit the hospital to see the continuing problems with corridor care, and will he update the House on what the Government are doing to ensure that the hospital can manage winter pressures and maintain safe, high-quality care?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing this matter to the House’s attention. It is appalling for coffee shops to be commandeered as spaces for the care of patients, and we will not accept it. I am happy to look at the case that my hon. Friend has mentioned. We will also be publishing figures on corridor care so that we can hold the system to account, and the public can hold us to account, to improve the situation that we inherited.