Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health
Secretary, has today accused Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt of “trying to cover
up" a new round of NHS cuts, which include closing wards and
services, extending waiting times and stopping treatments.

The NHS Capped Expenditure Process
involves hundreds of millions of pounds of reductions to local health
economies, but Government Ministers have so far refused to comment on the
proposals.

Jonathan Ashworth
said:

“I’ve today written to Health Secretary
Jeremy Hunt asking a raft of questions and outlining in no uncertain terms the
major concern that Labour has regarding hundreds of millions of pounds of cuts
to local health budgets.

“The process has been going on since at
least April but so far there has been no announcement from the Health
Secretary, his Ministers or the Department for Health. There is an astonishing
lack of transparency around this whole process.

“Across the country patients and their families are living in fear
that local services they rely on will be cut back to plug black hole which this
government has created.

“This government wants to give the impression that this is for NHS
managers to sort out and wash their hands of a process which involves hundreds
of millions of pounds of public money. This is an unacceptable abdication of
responsibilities to patients and the public and gives the impression of trying
to cover up this new round of NHS cuts.”

Perth Road (Hawkhill to Roseangle) – closed from Monday 24 July for 4 weeks for carriageway resurfacing.

A Chinese naval formation including aircraft carrier Liaoning will visit Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in early July in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) being stationed in HKSAR.

Liang Yang, spokesperson for the PLA Navy, said Sunday that the flotilla will also consist of guided-missile destroyers, missile frigates, J-15 fighter jets, and helicopters.

Officers and soldiers will attend various exchanges and activities with Hong Kong residents and the PLA Garrison in the HKSAR, and the warships will be open for the public to visit, Liang said.

The visit will help increase Hong Kong residents’ understanding of achievements made in national defense and army building, especially naval building, Liang said.

The PLA Hong Kong Garrison has been responsible for the defense of Hong Kong since its return to the motherland in 1997.

A young constituent graduate came to see me to ask how the government and I can guarantee that we will look after the environment. He sought the usual assurances which I could give that all EU environment laws will be translated into UK law by the Brexit Act. Thereafter improvements will be made only following extensive Parliamentary debate and votes. He also wanted to know what the government was doing about transport and power generation, as he feared the emissions from these sources.

I explained that the government has undertaken a substantial programme of coal fired power station closures and has intervened heavily in the market to get more wind power and new nuclear. This will of course entail dearer electricity, which transfers energy using industry to other countries at our expense.I myself think we need to combine better fuel saving with cheaper power to help create and sustain industrial and agricultural jobs here in the UK. The government is currently proposing legislation to facilitate more electric cars, is promoting electric and intelligent technology for vehicles, and wants the UK to be a leader in green technology businesses. I would also like us to make more of our own goods and grow more of our own fruit, vegetables and flowers around the year.

He was still concerned and wanted to know what he could personally do. I suggested as a graduate chemist with a current job in an engineering business he should see if he could join or set up a green business that supplies us with things we want. The way to conserve fuel is to sell a range of products and services to us to cut fuel use in our homes. It is to promote fuel saving components in our vehicles, and to concentrate on reducing dirty emissions which are causing air pollution. Much green development is commonsense. I want a more fuel efficient car. I want a better insulated home. I want a more fuel efficient boiler. I welcome fuel saving appliances as long as they work well. There is much more we can do within existing technology, and scope for many more technical advances.

This was not the answer he was expecting. He said he had more in mind campaigning for a greener world. I said I did not think we were short of politicians and green campaigners urging us to use less fuel. I thought what we were short of was practical business people helping us in our homes and cars to save energy and cut our bills. Anyone with a business model that could do that would help customers and save the planet at the same time. I did point out the one big thing as a politician I am trying to do to protect some of our green environment is to promote new trains and signals that would give us a big expansion of train capacity without having to build new train lines. The danger of some green legislation is it can drive energy using business offshore and raise our cost of living without achieving at global level the stated aim of the policy. We want smart energy use, not dearer energy.