Jonathan
Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Health, commenting on
reports that GPs are drawing up plans to charge patients for evening and
weekend appointments, said:

“The
fairest, most efficient and most equitable way of delivering healthcare is to
ensure it is publicly funded and free at the point of use.

“Reports
that GPs are now considering introducing charging would allow wealthier
patients to jump the queue. It is an intolerable consequence of Government
under-funding of General Practice and the Tories’ wasteful re-organisation of the
NHS.

"This
is yet another stark revelation about the reality of Tory mismanagement of the
NHS. The Prime Minister simply cannot keep blaming everyone other than her own
Government for the scale of this crisis. Hard-working people don’t want an NHS
where they are charged for treatments. Theresa May needs to get a grip and
fast.”

Diane
Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, speaking after revelations that
confidential NHS patient data is being gathered by the Home Office to trace
suspected illegal immigrants, said:

“This
is unacceptable. We have already seen this government using schools to gather
immigration data on children. Now we find they are using the NHS in the same
way.

“Other public services should not be expected to cover for
this Tory Government’s cuts to the border agency. People could be
deterred from seeking medical care because they are worried their confidential
information might be passed on. This could do irreparable damage to the people
concerned and it may have public health implications. It should stop now.”

John
McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, speaking after the vote tonight on
the revised Charter for Budget Responsibility, said:

“This
is not a Charter for Budget Responsibility, it’s a ‘Charter for Alternative
Facts’, as the Chancellor has tonight abolished the OBR’s ability to determine
when a negative shock occurs. This represents a lack of confidence by the
Chancellor in his ability to reach his own targets, as well as a rowing back of
the welcome principles the OBR was created for – impartiality and credibility
of fiscal policy.

“Instead
of less scrutiny by the OBR, Labour would like to see more, such as our call
for the Chancellor to give power to the OBR to assess short-medium term policy
decisions on health spending. Given the last six years of Tory underfunding in
our NHS alongside the Government’s denials of the resulting crisis, we need to
restore not diminish the public’s faith in the Government’s spending plans.

“Under
this new charter the OBR will assume the role of bystander rather than arbiter
of whether or not the economy is facing a negative shock. This is a huge power
grab by the Chancellor, as it means he can decide when and what such a “shock”
will be, and therefore he can suspend his rules when he likes, and make up his
targets as he goes along.

“This
Charter also continues with the practice of lumping infrastructure spending in
with day-to-day spending, meaning that there
will be insufficient scope for investment in our economy, which could hinder
growth and therefore our ability to reduce the national debt.

“Despite all the rhetoric of “pressing the reset button”, the
Autumn Statement has shown that there would be a continuation of austerity cuts
to public services. There is still no more money for the NHS and social care
crisis, or for ESA and Universal Credit recipients facing cuts.

“Labour’s
Fiscal Credibility Rule would provide the adequate level of investment our
economy needs, underpinned by independent oversight coming from both the MPC
and a beefed up OBR, which would report to parliament and not the Treasury.”

Angela
Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, ahead of
the party’s Opposition Day Debate on schools funding, said:  

“Schools are struggling to plug the massive budget deficits
created by a Tory Government incapable of running a schools system.

“On Monday we heard from headteachers who are increasingly faced
with difficult choices of whether they can afford to have classrooms cleaned,
sport pitches mowed or to keep hold of vital support staff who are essential to
school communities.   

“With three quarters
of school budgets taken up by staffing costs, the fear across the sector is
that classroom teachers could be cut next.

“At the election the Tories offered warm words to parents about
better schools and promised to protect school funding. It is clear that their
legacy will now be one of cutting school budgets, super-sized class sizes, and
no progress made in the international league tables.

“Our children deserve better.”

John
McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to the ONS public sector
finance figures today, which show the national debt having risen to £1.7
trillion
at
the end of December 2016, said:

“After
six wasted years of Tory failure on the economy it seems that under Philip
Hammond it is only going to get worse.

"It
appears 2016 was yet another bad year for the national debt with the Tories
adding an increase of £91.5 billion, or an average of £251 million each
day over the last year: the equivalent of £1,400 per head in the last 12
months.

"Under
Hammond’s new fiscal rules, presented in the House today, there is insufficient scope for investment in our economy,
which will hinder growth and therefore our ability to reduce the national debt.

"Only
Labour has a real investment plan underpinned by our Fiscal Credibility Rule to
tackle the national debt and to deal with the public finances, so we can
transform and rebuild Britain in order that no one and no community is left
behind.”