Tag: Politics

Persistent understaffing of NHS a serious risk to patient safety, warns Westminster committee

‘We now face the greatest workforce crisis in history in the NHS and in social care’

The NHS and social care face the greatest workforce crisis in their history, compounded by the absence of a credible government strategy to tackle the situation, say MPs in a new Health and Social Care Committee report.

In the NHS, persistent understaffing poses a serious risk to staff and patient safety in routine and emergency care.

The Workforce: recruitment, training and retention report outlines the scale of the workforce crisis: new research suggests the NHS in England is short of 12,000 hospital doctors and more than 50,000 nurses and midwives; evidence on workforce projections say an extra 475,000 jobs will be needed in health and an extra 490,000 jobs in social care by the early part of the next decade; hospital waiting lists reached a record high of nearly 6.5 million in April.

The report finds the Government to have shown a marked reluctance to act decisively. The refusal to do proper workforce planning risked plans to tackle the Covid backlog – a key target for the NHS.

The number of full-time equivalent GPs fell by more than 700 over three years to March 2022, despite a pledge to deliver 6,000 more. Appearing before the inquiry, the then Secretary of State Sajid Javid admitted he was not on track to deliver them. The report describes a situation where NHS pension arrangements force senior doctors to reduce working hours as a “national scandal” and calls for swift action to remedy.

Maternity services are flagged as being under serious pressure with more than 500 midwives leaving in a single year. A year ago the Committee’s maternity safety inquiry concluded almost 2,000 more midwives were needed and almost 500 more obstetricians. The Secretary of State failed to give a deadline by when a shortfall in midwife numbers would be addressed.

Pay is a crucial factor in recruitment and retention in social care. Government analysis estimated more than 17,000 jobs in care paid below the minimum wage.

A separate report by the Committee’s panel of independent experts (Expert Panel) published today rates the government’s progress overall to meet key commitments it has made on workforce as “inadequate”.

Health and Social Care Committee Chair Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt said: “Persistent understaffing in the NHS poses a serious risk to staff and patient safety, a situation compounded by the absence of a long term plan by the government to tackle it.

“We now face the greatest workforce crisis in history in the NHS and in social care with still no idea of the number of additional doctors, nurses and other professionals we actually need. NHS professionals know there is no silver bullet to solve this problem but we should at least be giving them comfort that a plan is in place.

“This must be a top priority for the new Prime Minister.”

Another one bites the dust …

Tugendhat eliminated from Tory leadership contest

TOM Tugenhadt was the latest candidate to be eliminated from the Conservative Party leadership contest when results of yesterday’s ballot was announced last night.

FOUR candidates now go through to the next round of voting. They are:

KEMI BADENOCH (58)

PENNY MORDAUNT (82)

RISHI SUNAK (115)

LIZ TRUSS (71)

The next round of voting takes place today – we’ll know the result at 3pm – and the shortlist will be reduced to two candidates before parliament breaks up on Thursday. Tory Party members will then choose between these final two candidates in a ballot that will take place over the summer recess.

The winner – and the UK’s next Prime Minister – will be announced on 5 September.

3pm UPDATE

KEMI Badenoch is the latest candidate to be eliminated following today’s vote. Exactly where Ms Badenoch’s votes go now will be crucial in determining which two of the final three candidates will fight it out for the votes of Tory party members over the summer to become our next Prime Minister.

Renewing democracy … or vanity project?

First Minister: ‘Independence can strengthen and embed democracy in Scotland’

The only way Scotland can ensure decisions are taken in the best interests of its people is with independence, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday, as new analysis was published showing the extent to which the UK Government can override decisions taken by the Scottish Parliament.

The second paper in the Building a New Scotland series, Renewing Democracy through Independence, outlines how under the current system it is still only the UK’s Government and Parliament that can make decisions about certain issues that impact significantly on people’s daily lives in areas such as:

  • whether Scotland should be in the EU; devolution did not protect Scotland from being taken out of the EU against the clear views of the majority (62%) of Scottish voters in the 2016 referendum, nor from the “hard” form of Brexit imposed by the UK Government
  • key energy policies, such as levels of support for renewable projects, and an overall energy strategy that reflects Scotland’s net zero targets
  • on cutting or increasing taxes, pensions and benefits like Universal Credit; the Scottish Government spent £100 million to mitigate the effects of UK Government austerity policies in 2019 alone and protect low-income families in Scotland
  • powers over migration – despite Scotland being the only part of the UK where the number of people of working age is expected to fall over the next 25 years, meaning we need to attract talent from overseas.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Today’s paper focusses on democracy and democratic renewal. It exposes the significant and increasing democratic deficit that Scotland suffers as part of the Union.

“It shows that, far from being abstract, this inbuilt deficit has real life consequences for individuals, families and businesses across Scotland – from the impact of austerity to the implications of a Brexit we did not vote for.

“And it argues that only independence can both strengthen and embed democracy in Scotland – and provide a secure foundation from which to overcome challenges and fulfil our potential.

“This discussion could not be more timely or urgent. The democratic deficit Scotland faces is not a recent phenomenon – it has been there throughout devolution – but the evidence of it now is starker than ever.

“The fact is independence is not just the best route to renewing and securing democracy in Scotland – which is, in turn, so essential to building the economic and social future we want. Independence is the only credible route.

“That is why offering Scotland the choice of independence – a policy mandated by the Scottish people – is so essential.”

Renewing Democracy Through Independence

Building a New Scotland

The Scottish Tories are clear in their opposition to Ms Sturgeon”s priorites:

Scottish Liberal Democrats deputy leader Wendy Chamberlain MP said: “This week we saw the worst ever waiting times in our A&E departments and soaring demand for foodbanks in Scotland.

“Energy bills are sky rocketing and families are struggling to put food on the table.

“It is clear that the cost of living crisis and the A&E crisis require our governments to focus on the problems affecting people now and get to work on fixing them.

“Yet today, Nicola Sturgeon instead decided to announce the latest entry in her series of papers for an unwanted independence referendum.

“Rather than spending taxpayers’ money on this series of vanity publishing exercises, the Scottish Government should be putting every penny to work to help people with the cost-of-living crisis.

“That’s where the energies of every minister should be focused, not on independence.”

AN Edinburgh Labour MSP has lambasted the Scottish Government’s record on the health service.

Commenting on the Scottish Government’s response to A&E waiting times, Foysol Choudhury MSP said: “The Scottish Government’s announcement of £50 million to address A&E waiting lists is both inadequate and poorly targeted for the scale of the crisis the NHS is now in. We are told it includes ‘alternatives to hospital-based treatment’ but given little detail about how this will be implemented or fit in to our existing care system.

“The crisis in the NHS is not limited to just A&E departments – it is systemic. I now regularly hear from constituents who cannot get NHS GP, dentist, or audiology appointments. When people are increasingly struggling to access primary care, it is no surprise that A&E departments are feeling the strain. Earlier this year I raised with the First Minister the fact that almost two fifths of cancers in Scotland are only being diagnosed at A&E, which is a sad indictment of the state of primary care in our country.

“I recently wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Health & Social Care about the inaccessibility of GP appointments, with many of my constituents frustrated at what they feel is a morning telephone lottery for appointments. I was very disappointed by the response I got back, which suggested that my constituents should complain to their GP’s practice manager, as if this were not a systemic problem repeated in GP services across Lothian and indeed Scotland.

“It is simply not good enough for the Scottish Government to pass the buck to NHS staff on these issues, particularly when there is already poor morale within the health service as patients are increasingly frustrated by waiting times. The crisis of access across the NHS is putting lives at risk. The Scottish Government must now act to remedy it.”

Six of the best?

SECOND ROUND OF VOTING TAKES PLACE TODAY

RISHI Sunak has emerged as the front-runner in the race to become the next Prime Minister. The former Chancellor was the clear winner following the first round of voting by MPs yesterday.

Sunak topped the poll with 88 votes, Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt was a strong second on 67 and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who launches her campaign today, third on 50.

New Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and former health secretary Jeremy Hunt were eliminated from the race, both failing to attract suffiicient support.

First Round Voting was:

Rishi Sunak 88

Penny Mordaunt 67

Liz Truss 50

Kemi Badenoch 40

Tom Tugendhat 37

Suella Braverman 32

Nadhim Zahawi 25*

Jeremy Hunt 18*

Eliminated *

The six remaining hopefuls – Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss and Tom Tugendhat – face another round of voting today when another candidate will be eliminated.

The field is expected to be narrowed down to two by the end of next week, then over the summer around 160,000 Conservative Party members will have their say on who they want as their next party leader – and our prime minister.

The result will be announced on 5 September.

And then there were eight …

Outsider falls before the first hurdle as race to become Conservative Party leader gets underway

EIGHT candidates will battle it out to become the next Conservative Party leader – and our new Prime Minister – as voting gets under way this afternoon.

Each of the candidates was able to get the minimum twenty signatures required to take part in the contest and the competition now gets under way in earnest.

One hopeful who didn’t make it was little-known backbencher Rehman Chishti, who failed to get the required number of nominations.

Cabinet ministers Dominic Raab and Grant Shapps chose not to stand, instead attending Rishi Sanak’s campaign launch. Other big names not putting themselves forward to be the next Prime Minister are Priti Patel, Michael Gove and Sajid Javid, although all three will be keen to influence the outcome of the contest.

The candidates are: Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat and Nadhim Zahawi.

They now have to secure 30 votes in the first round today to stay in the race. Voting opens at 1.30pm with the result expected just after 5pm.

Further votes will then take place over the coming days to whittle the number of candidates down to a final two. Conservative Party members across the country will then choose between this final pair over the summerand the winner is expected to be announced on 5 September before parliament resumes after the summer recess.

Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak seems certain to be one of the final two, but at this stage it is far from clear who his final opponent is going to be.

5pm UPDATE:

Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and current Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi have been eliminated after today’s vote.

The six remaining candidates will do it all again tomorrow.

.

Consultation: What impact has COVID-19 had on the Scottish labour market?

The COVID-19 Recovery Committee is to analyse the impact of the pandemic on the Scottish labour market, including how long Covid, long-term sickness and early retirement is affecting the number of those in work.

Submit your views – Road to recovery: impact of the pandemic on the Scottish labour market

As the country starts the process of recovery from the pandemic, a key issue that has emerged is a persistently high number of people no longer part of the workforce, termed ‘economically inactive’. 

A blog by the Fraser of Allander Institute concluded in April 2022 that: “More worrying for the outlook for the Scottish labour market is the fact that we now have over 20,000 more people economically inactive because of long-term sickness than we had pre-pandemic.”

The Committee will investigate the reasons behind these high numbers, including the emergence of above average numbers of long-term sick.

They want to understand if this is this due to pre-existing conditions, or new conditions, such as long COVID, or other factors, such as stress brought on by pandemic experiences. The Committee will also look at whether early retirement is one of the drivers behind this change in the labour market.

COVID-19 Recovery Committee Convener Siobhian Brown MSP said: “Unlike previous economic shocks, where the labour force numbers recovered much more quickly, we are seeing concerning persistent numbers of long term economically inactive people.

“We want to find out why this has happened and what needs to be done to encourage these people back into the work place.

“We are keen to learn more about the labour market impact of the pandemic on people with pre-existing health conditions, what influenced people to take early retirement and whether specific groups of society or areas of the country have been impacted more than others.

“There is no doubt that the reasons behind this will be complex but in order to address this issue we must first understand why people are no longer working.”  

Let the Committee know your views:

Road to recovery: impact of the pandemic on the Scottish labour market

The call for views closes on 9 September.

Crisis? What Crisis?

UK government rebuild under way as Tory candidates line up for top job

The Queen approved the following appointments yesterday as outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson assembled a new government after a tumultuous 48 hours that saw more than fifty resignations:

  • Rt Hon Greg Clark MP as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
  • Rt Hon James Cleverly MP as Secretary of State for Education
  • Rt Hon Sir Robert Buckland QC MP as Secretary of State for Wales
  • Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
  • Shailesh Vara MP as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
  • Andrew Stephenson MP as Minister without Portfolio. He will attend Cabinet.
  • Johnny Mercer MP as a Minister of State (Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) at the Cabinet Office. He will attend Cabinet.
  • Graham Stuart MP as a Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
  • Stephen McPartland MP as a Minister of State (Minister for Security) at the Home Office
  • Tom Pursglove MP as a Minister of State jointly at the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice
  • James Heappey MP as a Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence
  • Will Quince MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Education
  • Maria Caulfield MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Health and Social Care
  • Paul Scully MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. He remains as Minister for London.
  • Marcus Jones MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
  • Matt Warman MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
  • Trudy Harrison MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Transport
  • Edward Timpson CBE MP as Solicitor General

Mr Johnson plans to stay on as PM until a successor is elected by the autumn, but many Tory MPs want him to leave office straight away. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab – who has ruled himself out of the race to replace Johnson – would seem like the obvious person to hold the reins during this transitional period.

Opposition leader Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer has said he will call a vote of no confidence, forcing a general election, if Johnson doesn’t go now, For that to succeed, though, Starmer would need the support of Tory MPs – and even in these turbulent times it’s pretty unlikely that turkeys will vote for Christmas!

While the Prime Minister throws together this patchwork interim government the race to succeed him has begun in earnest after Johnson was finally forced to quit as Tory leader yesterday.

Respected backbencher Tom Tugendhat is the latest MP to throw his hat into the ring, joining Attorney General Suella Braverman and Brexiteer Steve Baker who have both indicated an interest in standing for the top job. They will be joined by plenty more candidates stepping forward over the coming days, however.

Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, former Health secretary Sajid Javid, transport secretary Grant Shapps and new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi are all likely to stand, as is photo-opp queen, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (above).

Defence secretary Ben Wallace is seen as a steady pair of hands and is popular with the Tory faithful and Trade minister Penny Mordaunt is also expected to put her name forward. Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt is very likely to stand, but his successor Matt Hancock has wisely ruled himself out. There will be many more who see themselves as the perfect candidate to be our next Prime Minister, though.

Spoilt for choice?

Infamy, infamy … defiant Boris says goodbye – but not just yet

PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON statement 7th July 2022:

Good afternoon everybody,

It is now clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new Prime Minister, and I have agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our backbench MPs, that the process of choosing that new leader should begin now and the timetable will be announced next week

And I have today appointed a cabinet to serve – as I will – until a new leader is in place so I want to say to the millions of people who voted for us in 2019 – many of them voting Conservative for the first time.

Thank you for that incredible mandate, the biggest Conservative majority since 1987, the biggest share of the vote since 1979 and the reason I have fought so hard for the last few days to continue to deliver that mandate in person was not just because I wanted to do so but because I felt it was my job, my duty, my obligation to you to continue to do what we promised in 2019.

And of course I am immensely proud of the achievements of this government from getting Brexit done and settling our relations with the continent after half a century reclaiming the power for this country to make its own laws in parliament, getting us all through the pandemic, delivering the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, the fastest exit from lockdown and in the last few months leading the west in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.

And let me say now to the people of Ukraine that I know that we in the UK will continue to back your fight for freedom for as long as it takes and at the same time in this country we have at the same time been pushing forward a vast programme of investment in infrastructure, skills and technology – the biggest for a century – because if I have one insight into human beings it is that genius and talent and enthusiasm and imagination are evenly distributed throughout the population but opportunity is not, and that is why we need to keep levelling up, keep unleashing the potential of every part of the United Kingdom. And if we can do that in this country, we will be the most prosperous in Europe.

And in the last few days I have tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we are delivering so much and when we have such a vast mandate and when we are actually only a handful of points behind in the polls even in mid term after quite a few months of pretty unrelenting sledging , and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally and I regret not to have been successful in those arguments.

And of course it is painful not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself but as we’ve seen at Westminster, the herd is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves and and my friends in politics no one is remotely indispensable.

And our brilliant and Darwinian system will produce another leader equally committed to taking this country forward through tough times not just helping families to get through it but changing and improving our systems, cutting burdens on businesses and families and – yes – cutting taxes, because that is the way to generate the growth and the income we need to pay for great public services.

And to that new leader I say, whoever he or she may be, I will give you as much support as I can and to you the British people I know that there will be many who are relieved but perhaps quite a few who will be disappointed and I want you to know how sad I am to give up the best job in the world, but them’s the breaks.

I want to thank Carrie and our children, to all the members of my family who have had to put up with so much for so long

I want to thank the peerless British civil service for all the help and support that you have given our police, our emergency services and of course our NHS who at a critical moment helped to extend my own period in office, as well as our armed services and our agencies that are so admired around the world and

[Political content omitted]

I want to thank the wonderful staff here at Number Ten and of course at Chequers and our fantastic protforce detectives – the one group, by the way, who never leak .

And above all I want to thank you the British public for the immense privilege you have given me and I want you to know that from now until the new Prime Minister is in place, your interests will be served and the government of the country will be carried on.

Being Prime Minister is an education in itself I have travelled to every part of the United Kingdom and in addition to the beauty of our natural world I have found so many people possessed of such boundless British originality and so willing to tackle old problems in new ways that I know that even if things can sometimes seem dark now, our future together is golden.

Thank you all very much.

With so much still uncertain, there’s no doubt those will NOT be Boris Johnson’s last words as Prime Minister …

Just another day at the office?

Boris Johnson ‘gets on with the job’ as his government collapses around him

IT was perhaps the most remarkable day in British political history. Seldom, if ever, has so much drama been packed into twenty-four hours.

What happened yesterday? In summary:

  • New Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi does the early morning round of media calls: business as usual, getting on with the job, etc. etc.
  • An uncomfortable Prime Minister’s Questions sees Boris Johnson ridiculed by Opposition party leaders and attacked by members of his own party
  • PMQs is followed by a damning statement to parliament by outgoing Education secretary Sajid Javid
  • Boris Johnson leaves Westminster to attempt to appoint new ministers. This proves impossible as there is a steady stream of resignations – more than 40 by the end of the day – as well as new flood of letters of no confidence.
  • If PMQs was painful. an appearance in front of the high-powered Liaison Committee later in the afternoon was excruciating, with politicians from all sides taking the opportunity to heap further misery on a clearly flustered Prime Minister.
  • Asked by a committee member how his week was going, Boris Johnson replied: ‘Terrific’. I assume he was joking – but then, with this Prime Minister, you can never be really sure …

You might have thought the Prime Minister’s ‘terrific’ day couldn’t have got any worse … but this was no ordinary day.

Awaiting the PM at Downing Street was a group of Cabinet ministers, including newly-appointed Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi-, the vast majority of whom urged him to stand down.

The chairman of the Tory Party’s 1922 committee also patiently awaited his audience with the PM – and it’s not breaking any confidences to say that Sir Graham Brady was not the bearer of glad tidings of great joy either …

Johnson met each of them individually, but rather than heed their considered advice that the game was up, the Prime Minister instead sided with the views of arch-loyalists Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg and decided instead to fight on … and as a parting shot for the evening fired arch-conspirator Michael Gove!

Putting all those internal difficulties aside, The Prime Minister found time to ‘get on with the job’ and fired off a letter to Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to confirm that no, I won’t be agreeing to another referendum …

A busy day at the office indeed, and a day on which Wimbledon really couldn’t match Westminster for excitement and drama.

Who knows what surprises today will bring as the Prime Minister attempts to salvage his government from the remnants of his deeply divided party?

Can his ‘terrific’ week really get any worse? Resignation looks inevitable but could this serial survivor really escape once again?

Letter_to_The_Right_Honourable_Nicola_SturgeonDownload

BREAKING NEWS: JOHNSON TO RESIGN

The BBC is reporting that Boris Johnson will resign as Conservative leader today and will continue as prime minister until the autumn.

It’s understood Mr Johnson will publicly announce his resignation later today.

Sinking ship? Sunak and Javid bail out

BELEAGUERED BORIS JOHNSON INSISTS HE’LL ‘GET ON WITH THE JOB’

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned from Boris Johnson’s Tory government last night.

The mishandling of the former deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher affair seems to have been the final straw for the two senior cabinet ministers, who submitted letters of resignation within minutes of each other last night.

Four junior ministers and Solicitor General Alex Chalk also resigned, piling pressure on the Prime Minister to step down.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to carry on, however, and promoted three loyalists in an attempt to shore up his teetering government. The following ministerial appointments have been made:

  • Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP to be Chancellor of the Exchequer
  • Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP to be Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
  • Rt Hon Michelle Donelan MP to be Secretary of State for Education

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “It is an honour to take up the position of Health and Social Care Secretary. Our NHS and social care staff have showed us time and again – throughout the pandemic and beyond – what it means to work with compassion and dedication to transform lives.

“This government is investing more than ever before in our NHS and care services to beat the Covid backlogs, recruit 50,000 more nurses, reform social care and ensure patients across the country can access the care they need.”

THE Government is collapsing and it has been “corrupted” by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said last night.

Speaking to GB News after the resignation of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, he also called for a General Election.

He told Darren McCaffrey: “It’s clear that this Tory government is now collapsing.

“Tory cabinet ministers have been cheerleaders for Johnson throughout this sorry saga. They backed him when he broke the law.

“They backed him when he lied. They backed him when he mocked the sacrifices of the British people, so they have been complicit as he has disgraced his office and let down his country.

“And frankly, if they had a shred of integrity, they would have gone months ago. The Tory Party is corrupted and tragic.

“One man at the top won’t fix it. We need a real change of government and a fresh start for Britain.”

Sir Keir added: “There’s anything but political stability, this government is collapsing. Cabinet members have been backing Boris Johnson through this.

“The Tory party is corrupted and we need not just a change at the top of the Tory party, we need a change of government and a fresh start for our country so we can actually address those big issues that are undoubtedly out there.”

He continued: “He isn’t fit to be Prime Minister. He’s not fit to govern the country.

“That is appalling for many people across the Conservative Party but they have to reflect on the fact that they have backed him for months and months and months and resigning today, it means nothing against their complicity for all those months when they should have seen him for what he was they knew who he was.”

Starmer called for a General Election: “We need a fresh start for Britain. We need a change of government and this government is collapsing. The Tory party is corrupted and changing one man at the top of the Tory party won’t make any difference. It won’t fix the problems.

“Let’s have a fresh start for Britain, let’s have a real change of government.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “Feels like end might be nigh for Johnson – not a moment too soon. Notable tho that the resigning ministers were only prepared to go when they were lied to – they defended him lying to public. The whole rotten lot need to go.

“And Scotland needs the permanent alternative of independence.”

Prime Minister’s Questions will be interesting today!