Speeches by Streeting.

“I don’t agree we have kicked the can down. Since coming into government—we have only been in a year—we have increased the spending power in social care significantly. We have delivered the biggest expansion of carer’s allowance since the 1970s, and a big increase in the disabled facilities grant. We have legislated for…”

“I’m not pretending for a moment it’s a panacea, but those are meaningful, demonstrable steps in the right direction, and there is more to come.”

“If the diary allows.”

“Yes. When you illustrate the cost to the economy as a whole, that can be really helpful in terms of elevating something as a priority and demonstrating the impact that it would have if we solved x problem on the cost to the economy, but I think even more powerfully, in an NHS context, we can demonstrate the actual cash…”

“We are going to consult on Carr-Hill. It is a reasonable thing for people to ask us to look at, and we will take it into consideration.”

“The real thing we are driving at is to make sure that the level of resource going into general practice is able to meet the needs of the local population. You have got to take into account a whole range of demographic pressures and societal conditions on the health need and demand.”

“In terms of neighbourhood health services, we would anticipate that these would be mainly NHS organisations, but you could imagine, with some of the things that we want to achieve, that we will be working with companies like Boots and Specsavers to deliver a greater range of services as well.”

“Yes, always led by the NHS.”

“There are two different things. There is neighbourhood health, in terms of leadership of the needs of the local population, and then there are neighbourhood health centres. In terms of neighbourhood health models, of course, any new provider organisation would obviously be commissioned and established with a level of m…”

“And poor contract management, so we need to make sure we learn those lessons and get this absolutely right.”

“The two problems you have described are inextricably linked. Over time, we will drive the left shift in terms of not just transfer of resources, but transfer of responsibilities. Lots of things, from diagnostic tests and scans to minor injuries and urgent treatment, can and should be done in primary and community care,…”

“There are lots of people who are presenting in emergency care who do not require emergency care. I do not criticise those patients, because often it is the only place that they feel they can access. But there are lots of things that the NHS is doing that, if rolled out consistently, would make a massive difference. For…”

“I will say a few things and then bring in Jim and Sally as well. First, when it comes to thinking about quality and safety, Mid Staffs looms large in my mind, as do the lessons of that inquiry. As do the conversations that I have had with a significant number of families over the last 12 months, which have been far and…”

“Yes, that is right. I am anxious about this. I do not think that our nursing profession has received the level of respect and support to which it is entitled. Unless we give nurses better job security and job satisfaction, and unless they feel genuinely recognised and rewarded for their work, we end up in the worst of …”

“That is the thing that unites the employers, the trade unions and the local authorities. Unless we pay our care staff better, and build a genuine social care profession, we will fail to recruit and retain the brilliant people we need. That is why fair pay agreements were introduced in the Employment Rights Bill in our …”

“Yes. If I can go further, I would like to. Notwithstanding the fact that I do not agree with the BMA about the timing or the necessity of its proposed strike action, I absolutely share not just the concern but the anger and frustration I hear from resident doctors. As I have said to many of them, the best pay rise they…”

“I think you are right. We have our workforce plan, which we are currently developing in the light of the 10 year plan. The previous workforce plan was just not in the right place. A number of its assumptions were flawed. If we continue the rate of growth that the long-term workforce plan had assumed, then by the end of…”

“You are tempting me to pre-empt the workforce plan. Those are exactly the sorts of questions that we need to address—the size, shape, capacity and capability of the future workforce.”

“Without reeling off the list I gave earlier, I think the things we have done in the first year of this Labour Government have been significant and substantial on social care, but I recognise it is against the backdrop of much wider challenge and crisis in the social care system. What you will see next year from Casey i…”

“We will come back to you on that.”