Many MPs raised issues with Ministers about how they will ensure that the extra money voted by Parliament in principle this week to bring down waiting lists will be spent to achieve this end. I myself asked the Minister proposing the NIC rise follow… read more
I am asking the Health Secretary to share more of the detail of how extra money could be used to reduce waiting lists. I am also asking why some senior NHS managers think there is going to be a further bulge in waiting times, given the much lower leve… read more
The Treasury needs to concentrate on the recovery. Its wish to raise taxes and cut spending is damaging confidence and helping slow down what was a strong recovery. There is now an urgent need to rescue the recovery. This needs a complete change of at… read more
The danger of associating one tax with one item of spending is people might believe that item of tax paid for that item of spending. This will not be true with the NHS or with social care and the new levy by a very large margin. According to the Trea… read more
I voted against for a variety of reasons which I will set out in future blogs. It has been a busy few days trying to expose the spending issues over the NHS, the underlying problems with social care and the true state of the national finances. The me… read more