NHS ‘Addicted to Overspending’, says Health Secretary

NHS ‘Addicted to Overspending’, says Health Secretary as he Confirms Board Cuts

Labour is planning reforms to the welfare system in order to cut spending – but it appears that under immense pressure from its own MPs some concessions could be made. Earlier this morning Health Secretary Wes Streeting was on Sky New’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips show.

He’s since been on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg to continue discussing the main two stories in Westminster today – the government’s upcoming welfare and NHS reforms.

Sir Keir Starmer announced this week NHS England would be abolished as there is too much duplication with the work the Department of Health and Social Care does.

Mr Streeting was unable to say which other health quangos might be scrapped under the plan, but acknowledged there would be “significant” job losses.

He told Laura Kuenssberg: “I’m going after the bureaucracy, not the people who work in it.

“Of course, I can’t sugar coat the fact that there will be a significant number of job losses and we will want to make sure we are treating people fairly, supporting them properly through that process. And I’m not criticising them, but I’ve got to make sure the system is well set up.”

Asked which other organisations could be abolished after NHS England, he added: “We will shortly be publishing the findings of Dr Penny Dash, who did a big review of the way in which we regulate in the NHS.”

He said there “is an overregulation” and frontline NHS leaders “are complaining to me that they could deliver better care for patients and they could deliver better value for taxpayers, but they are often receiving a barrage of commands – sometimes contradictory and competing demands – from the Department for Health, from NHS England and from the wide range of regulators in this space”.