Streeting says ‘hell of a lot’ still to do after PM says NHS has met its two million extra appointment pledge – UK politics live

Streeting: ‘hell of a lot more to do’ on improving NHS care in England

Despite the announcement that the government claims to have hit its target of two million extra appointments, health secretary Wes Streeting has said there is “a hell of a lot more to do” to improve NHS care in England.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, the MP for Ilford North said:

What we’ve seen in the NHS over the course of winter with ambulance response times, and corridor care, [there’s] a hell of a lot more to do there. Mental health is in a dire state. There’s a huge amount more to do there.

And on each of those fronts, of course, we are going to deliver what we said in our manifesto.

But it’s important that as we do, we’re reporting back to reassure the public that politics can make a difference. That government can be a force for good.

Key events

Health secretary Wes Streeting has said he remains open to “serious proposals” for private investment in the NHS.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Streeting said:

I certainly want more patient choice, more patient power, more patient control over where they’re seen, how they’re treated, the nature of their appointments. The NHS should be as responsive as any other organisation that we use.

I think there is a role for private investment, but the terms of those arrangements, that’s where you’ve got to tread really carefully. But I’m open to serious proposals from the NHS, or indeed anyone else.

Government claims it has delivered election pledge on NHS appointments in England early

The government has claimed that it has delivered early on an election pledge to offer an extra two million NHS appointments in England within a year.

In a statement, the government said:

The prime minister has welcomed new figures published by NHS England which reveal that between July and November last year, the NHS delivered almost 2.2 million more elective care appointments compared to the same period the previous year – delivering on the government’s mission to fix the NHS as part of the plan for change.

The new data confirms the government reached the target seven months earlier than promised – with 100,000 more treatments, tests, and scans for patients each week, and more than half a million extra diagnostic tests delivered.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, health secretary Wes Streeting said: “Look at the size of the waiting lists overall. It’s come down four months in a row. That’s progress, but there’s still a lot more to do.”

NHS England provided 2.2m more appointments for planned care – including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and diagnostic tests – between July and November last year than during the same period the year before.

Streeting: ‘hell of a lot more to do’ on improving NHS care in England

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, the MP for Ilford North said:

What we’ve seen in the NHS over the course of winter with ambulance response times, and corridor care, [there’s] a hell of a lot more to do there. Mental health is in a dire state. There’s a huge amount more to do there.

And on each of those fronts, of course, we are going to deliver what we said in our manifesto.

But it’s important that as we do, we’re reporting back to reassure the public that politics can make a difference. That government can be a force for good.

Welcome and open summary …

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of UK politics for Monday. Here are the headlines.

The government has claimed that it has already delivered on its election pledge to provide two million additional NHS elective care appointments in England
Health secretary Wes Streeting said there is “a hell of a lot more to do” to improve care in the NHS in England, singling out ambulance response times and corridor care as issues
Prime minister Keir Starmer has written an op-ed for the Telegraph saying that he is willing to put British troops on the ground as part of a peacekeeping force on the ground in Ukraine if required as part of any peace deal
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned public sector unions will demand higher pay increases to compensate for accelerating inflation
UK employers are reported to be preparing for the biggest redundancy round in a decade amid collapsing business confidence as firms brace for tax increases from April
Britain’s poorest households are paying an increasing share of their income on council tax, according to new analysis
Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch, and Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, are expected to attend the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference in London