John
McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to the “Paradise Papers” revelations in
the Guardian this evening, said:

“These
are deeply worrying revelations. Despite all the Government’s claims of
cracking down on tax dodgers, this evidence confirms that tax avoidance is
clearly continuing on an industrial scale. Either the Prime Minister or the
Chancellor needs to explain how this scandalous behaviour has been allowed to
go on unaddressed for so long and what action is to be taken now.

“Here
we have proof that we have seen a lot of bluster from the government about
tackling tax avoidance but no real action. Only last week the Government was
blocking Labour amendments to the Finance Bill to bear down on this abuse.

"Every
pound avoided in tax by the super-rich is a pound desperately needed by our
NHS, our schools and our caring services.  To put this in context it’s
been recently reported that children’s care services are at breaking point as a
result of a £2 billion funding gap. Even the Government has admitted to a tax
gap of over £30 billion.

“If the
identification of Lord Ashcroft, a major Tory party funder, on the list and if
the allegations of tax avoidance are true, it means that the Prime Minister has
questions to answer. What did she and the Conservative Party know about
Ashcroft’s tax affairs and what due diligence checks were applied before she
agreed to the Conservative Party accepting significant donations from him?
Questions will inevitably be asked about the Prime Minister’s judgement about
allowing him to return to being a major party donor. Many individual
Conservative MPs and candidates will also need to answer what checks they made
also before they accepted donations to their campaigns in their constituencies.

The next
Labour Government will stand up for the tax payers and implement a
comprehensive plan to restore transparency to our tax system. Where the Tories
refuse to act, Labour will end the era of government turning a blind eye to the
scandal of tax avoidance by clamping down on tax havens and ending the
loopholes.”  

Jonathan
Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, has
written to Jeremy Hunt requesting an “urgent update” concerning the failure of
Capita to pay hundreds of trainee GPs their salaries.

Jonathan Ashworth said:

“I’m
sure you would agree that trainee GPs seeking charitable support to feed their
families, and being unable to cover their mortgages is an entirely unacceptable
situation which requires urgent rectification.”

“I’m sure
that as a Secretary of State who places patient safety at the heart of your
vision for our National Health Service you will be taking these warnings very
seriously indeed.”

The letter from Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary
calls on the Government to:

·        
Pay the affected
trainees directly until the situation is resolved so that they are not forced
to seek help from charities.

·        
Undertake a thorough
investigation into how these sustained failings were allowed to take place
under the watch of the Department of Health, and why this service was
outsourced in the first place.

Ends

Notes to editors:

·        
Full text of the letter:

Dear
Jeremy,

I am
writing to ask for an urgent update concerning the failure of the private firm
Capita to pay hundreds of trainee GPs their salaries.

On 30 October,
Dr Richard Vautrey, Chair of the General Practitioners Committee, wrote a
letter to NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens outlining a number of
significant issues with Primary Care Services England (PCSE). The service is
commissioned by NHS England and has been provided by Capita since it was
awarded the contract in June 2015.

Failings
include missing records, administrative errors preventing GPs from working and
missing payments. Some GP practices have not received their training grants and
have been forced to either cover the shortfall from wider budgets, which are
already under unprecedented strain, or leave trainees without payment.

One
trainee GP has told The Guardian newspaper that she was not paid for two
consecutive months by Capita, forcing her to post on a private message board
asking: “Anyone know of how I access hardship funds (quickly) to feed
children/pay nursery/mortgage (quickly)?”

I’m sure
you would agree that trainee GPs seeking charitable support to feed their
families, and being unable to cover their mortgages is an entirely unacceptable
situation which requires urgent rectification.

Many GPs
have also reported problems with management of the performers list, with
significant delays in updating lists leaving them unable to work- sometimes for
months at a time.

Additionally,
the BMA has warned that significant delays and faulty processes in both
registration and patient removals is “affecting patient care” and “causing
problems for patients with incorrect vaccination and screening calls/recalls.”

I’m sure
that as a Secretary of State who places patient safety at the heart of your
vision for our National Health Service you will be taking these warnings very
seriously indeed.

Clearly
PCSE services remain far below the high standards rightly expected by the
public. Instead of delivering high quality care, Capita’s failings are placing
GP services and staff under needless additional pressure with significant
ramifications for patient safety.

Therefore,
in the first instance whilst this deeply unfortunate situation continues, will
you instruct your Department to pay these trainees directly so that they are
not forced to seek help from charities?

Moreover,
will you agree to undertake a thorough investigation into how these sustained
failings were allowed to take place under the watch of your Department? The
public will rightly want to understand why this service was outsourced in the
first place and how it became yet another example of botched privatisation.

Finally,
the BMA estimates that hundreds of trainees have been affected, although NHS
England has been unable to confirm an exact number. Will you therefore
investigate exactly how many GP trainees have been affected by these sustained
and extremely serious failings?

New
systems for cervical screening and GP payments and pensions that are also
contracted out to Capita are due to go live next July. However, the BMA has
declared it has “no confidence” in Capita’s ability to deliver these services.

These
failings must never be allowed to be repeated. I look forward to receiving your
assurances that the matter is being dealt with swiftly and with the severity it
requires.

Yours
sincerely,

Jonathan
Ashworth MP
Shadow Secretary
of State for Health

Julie
Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Minister, commenting on the new joint
report on social care costs by Independent Age and the Institute and Faculty of
Actuaries, said:

“Older
people still face grave uncertainty over the cost of care because of the social
care policy vacuum created by a Tory Government bereft of ideas.

“Having
U-turned on their disastrous dementia tax policy the Tories failed to tell us
what the level of the cap on costs would be and they are now using a
long-awaited Green Paper to kick a decision on long-term social care funding
into the long grass.

“Labour
will ease the crisis in social care by building a National Care Service based
on the principle of shared risk so no-one faces catastrophic care costs as they
do now.”

Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local
Government, Andrew Gwynne MP,
responding to revelations that around one third of councils in England have
been forced to cut services delivering contraceptive care as a result of cuts
to public funding, said:

“Seven years of
government funding cuts to services are driving councils to the financial
brink.

"Continuing this
neglect risks creating a crisis not only in local government but also in our
health service.

"At a time when the
country needs fresh ideas and leadership, it is instead suffering from the
weakest and most divided government in memory.”

Ends

Peter Dowd MP,
Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, commenting on the Government’s
announcement to delay the abolition of Class 2 NICs, said:

“The government has clearly tried to sneak this
admission of their own failure out just before recess. This should have
been announced in the House by a Treasury Minister. 

“This announcement only further highlights the chaos that
there is at the centre of the Government right now, as clearly these proposals
had not been thoroughly thought through before they were announced.

"But above all the Government needs to make
sure that those currently paying Class 2 NICs, including many low-earning
self-employed people, are not hit hard as a result of their abolition and
replacement.”

Ends