Labour has
today called for a series of controversial changes to the NHS to be debated in the House of Commons, after it emerged
that Ministers had planned to force through new regulations without debate in
the New Year.

Labour has
tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons in the name of Labour Leader
Jeremy Corbyn and Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth, together with
front bench colleagues, calling for greater transparency on the Government’s
new Accountable Care plans in the NHS.

Jonathan
Ashworth has also written to Andrea Leadsom, Leader of the House of Commons, to
call for the Government to provide Parliamentary time for MPs to debate and
vote on the proposed changes on the floor of the House.

The
letter states:

“Accountable
Care Organisations are potentially the biggest change which will be made to our
NHS for a decade. Yet the Government has been reluctant to put details of the
new arrangements into the public domain. It’s essential that the decision
around whether to introduce ACOs into the NHS is taken in public, with a full
debate and vote in Parliament.

“There
are big, unanswered questions about how ACOs will be accountable to the public,
what the levels of private sector involvement will be, and what the
implications will be for NHS staff. The NHS is experiencing the largest
financial squeeze in its history and there are concerns that Accountable Care
Organisations could be used as a vehicle for greater rationing of treatment locally.

“The
unacceptable secrecy in which these ACOs have been conceived and are being
pushed forward is totally contrary to the NHS’s duty to be open, transparent
and accountable in its decision-making. The manner in which the Government are
approaching ACOs, as with STPs before them, fails that test.

“There
is a lack of clarity about Government’s intentions for ACOs, and in the absence
of a strong lead from the Secretary of State there is again growing public
mistrust. It is inconceivable in this context that the Government should make
such wide changes behind closed doors, rather than on the floor of the House.”

Angela
Rayner MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, responding to the
Government’s announcement that it will not follow the decision of the House of
Commons to reverse the increase in tuition fees, said:

“Yet again,
the Tories have shown their utter contempt for parliamentary democracy. Instead
of listening to elected MPs and abandoning their latest hike in tuition fees
they have simply recycled a series of old announcements. Ministers have shown
once again that they just cannot be trusted with the sweeping powers that they
want to give themselves under the Brexit Bill.

“This
latest statement leaves more questions than answers on their student funding
policy. Students and universities alike are all too aware that the Government
has no real plan for how to support our world-class universities and they can’t
tell us when the Prime Minister’s promised review will start let alone finish.

“It’s time
for the Tories to change their approach. They can make a start by following
Labour’s fully funded plans to scrap tuition fees and reintroduce maintenance
grants, which would allow every young person to go as far as their talents will
take them.”

Debbie
Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, responding to Philip Hammond’s
comments to the Treasury Select Committee about the impact of disabled
people in the workforce on productivity measurements, said:

“It is
disgraceful that Philip Hammond is scapegoating disabled people for a
productivity crisis created by the Conservatives’ failed economic
policies. 

"This
is coming from a Government that has forced disabled people to pay the price of
their failed austerity agenda, including by cutting measures that help disabled
people into the workforce and scrapping their own manifesto commitment on
halving the disability employment gap. 

"We
should be increasing disabled people’s access to employment, not denigrating
their contributions. The Chancellor should apologise immediately." 

Gordon Marsden MP, Shadow Higher Education
Minister, commenting on the Government’s announcement of a sale of part of the
student loan book at an apparent loss of £800 million, said:

“Today’s announcement is proof that this Government
is utterly incapable of getting a fair deal for taxpayers.

“In the last Budget Philip Hammond made clear that any sale of the student loan book would have to pass an assessment of
value for money, and it tells you everything you need to know about this
Government’s economic incompetence that they think a loss of £800 million is
good value for money.”

“This sale will simply leave taxpayers worse off,
as the Government desperately try to flatter their terrible record on our
public finances.”

Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, commenting on the Life Sciences Sector Deal, said:

“The Government’s embarrassing and shambolic approach to Brexit compromises many of the policies outlined in today’s Life Sciences Sector Deal and in last week’s White Paper.

“The European Medicines Agency has already been relocated to Amsterdam as a result of the Government’s approach, despite Labour’s warning that failure to ensure continued membership of the EMA would cause massive disruption to the pharmaceutical industry.

“Labour’s industrial strategy will bring the private and public sectors together to deliver the skills, infrastructure and business policies which will radically transform our economy for the many, not the few.’’