Government “trying to cover up” new NHS cuts - Ashworth

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, has today accused Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt of “trying to cover up" a new round of NHS cuts, which include closing wards and services, extending waiting times and stopping treatments.

The NHS Capped Expenditure Process involves hundreds of millions of pounds of reductions to local health economies, but Government Ministers have so far refused to comment on the proposals.

Jonathan Ashworth said:

“I’ve today written to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt asking a raft of questions and outlining in no uncertain terms the major concern that Labour has regarding hundreds of millions of pounds of cuts to local health budgets.

“The process has been going on since at least April but so far there has been no announcement from the Health Secretary, his Ministers or the Department for Health. There is an astonishing lack of transparency around this whole process.

“Across the country patients and their families are living in fear that local services they rely on will be cut back to plug black hole which this government has created.

“This government wants to give the impression that this is for NHS managers to sort out and wash their hands of a process which involves hundreds of millions of pounds of public money. This is an unacceptable abdication of responsibilities to patients and the public and gives the impression of trying to cover up this new round of NHS cuts.”

Rail passengers £1,000 better off under Labour

The next Labour Government will put rail passengers first by putting the brakes on rapidly increasing rail fares and saving commuters £1,014 on their season tickets

Under a Labour Government, passengers will on average save £1,014 on their rail season tickets over the next parliament, compared to the potential cost under a Tory Government.

Since 2010, regulated rail fares have risen by 27.1 per cent, increasing the average cost of a season ticket by £594.

The 2015 Conservative manifesto included a commitment to keeping rail fares frozen in real terms. However, regulated fares were capped at the Retail Price Index (RPI), which consistently over-estimates inflation, rather than the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Labour will cap regulated fair rises at the Consumer Price Index (CPI), using the money saved through bringing rail franchises back into public ownership. As more services come into public ownership, greater amounts of savings become available, and Labour will aim to introduce further fare caps or reductions.

Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, said:

“Under the Conservatives, rail fares have sky-rocketed and tickets are some of the most expensive in Europe.

“Labour will take Britain’s railways back into public control and put more money into people’s pockets by capping fares. This will save commuters £1,014 on their rail season tickets over the next Parliament, as part of our plan to promote services for the many, not the few.”

Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, said:

“Theresa May’s failure to commit to freezing rail fares shows just how out of touch they are.

“Under the Conservatives, fares have risen three times faster than wages, passenger satisfaction is plummeting, punctuality has fallen to a 10 year low and promised upgrades have either been delayed by years or scrapped altogether.

“Privatised rail has failed and it will take more than tinkering around the edges to deliver much needed improvements for passengers. Labour will take the railways back into public ownership and put passengers first by capping fares.”

The 2017 Tory manifesto has failed to make any commitment to keeping rail fares frozen in real terms, meaning rail fares are likely to rise above inflation (RPI) if the Conservatives win the General Election.

Between 2011 - 2013 the Tories allowed fares to rise by RPI plus 1 per cent. If fares continue to increase by the same rate, the average cost of a season ticket will rise by an extra £160 by the end of the next parliament, compared to being frozen at RPI.

Labour announce £155 per week for WASPI women

Labour has today outlined their plans to help end the plight of the hundreds of thousands of women abandoned to live in poverty by the Tory Government’s changes to their state pension age.  

Under the plan, Pension Credit will be extended to those who were due to retire before the chaotic pension age increase of the Conservative-led Coalition Government. This would alleviate the worst of the impacts for the most vulnerable women, and restore some of the dignity many of them feel they have been robbed of. It would provide support worth up to £155 per week to half a million of the most vulnerable WASPI women. 

One woman, a 61 year old now having to live with a friend, told WASPI campaigners how she receives just £8 a week from a private pension and is worried how she will afford basics such as dental treatment.  

The Government accepted that she is not fit for work, while also saying she isn’t eligible for ESA. She had to walk to the job centre every day, even in the snow with her walking stick. She was let down in the last Parliament, and now this Government is letting her down again.

The Government’s changes have affected women who would normally have retired earlier under the 1995 Pensions Act. Labour plans to extend eligibility to pension credit to these women, ensuring that they are not forced into the Government’s punitive social security regime. 

The Labour Party is calling on the Government to implement these plans in the Autumn Statement, to give vulnerable women in our country some stability until their delayed state pension is available.  The concession would operate for affected women up to 2022. 

Labour are also developing solutions for those affected who would not be entitled to means-tested Pension Credit under these proposals. It is however vital that action takes place now, to end the hardship faced by women who have worked all their lives, but find that they cannot retire as planned. Sadly the Pensions Minister has issued a point blank refusal to do anything to alleviate the worse cases – claiming that the current social security system was sufficient to meet the needs of everyone. Labour are now acting where the government has refused.   

Debbie Abrahams MP Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said:  

“The Government has completely failed to act to address the plight of these older women.

“That’s why Labour are today committing to the extension of Pension Credit to support the vulnerable women affected by the Government’s chaotic approach to the state pension.

“We call on the Government to address the concerns that are being raised by thousands of women up and down the country by implementing our proposals. They must follow Labour’s lead and act immediately to minimise any further hardship.”

Ends

Notes to editors

• The state pension age was increased under the 1995 Pensions Act. This timetable was shortened by the Coalition Government in the 2011 Pensions Act. • The Women Against State Pensions Inequality Campaign are a campaign group that fights the injustice done to women born in the 1950s (on or after 6 April 1951) regarding the changes to their state pension age. • Labour’s proposal is to return eligibility for Pensions Credit to the state pension age timetable of the 1995 Pensions Act, but with the qualifying age continuing to increase to 66 by 2022. • This policy costs £860 million over this parliamentary term. • Labour will reverse the tax cuts for the wealthy and big business made by the former Chancellor to cover the one-off cost of this measure.

Theresa May must spell out Tory policies after Dominic Raab gaffe - Ian Lavery

Theresa May must spell out Tory policies after Dominic Raab gaffe

Labour is calling on Theresa May to end the confusion over funding for our NHS and schools after a gaffe by Conservative MP Dominic Raab.

On the Victoria Derbyshire programme this morning, Dominic Raab suggested money for the NHS would be found by cutting free school meals for infants.

When pressed on the issue, he said: “Well, look we’ve said things like means testing the winter fuel payment. I’m giving an illustration of the difficult decisions, like saying that we wouldn’t be subsidising free school lunches for well-off parents, we don’t think that’s the right thing to do. We’d rather the money went into teaching and the NHS.”

The suggestion the NHS would benefit is at odds with the Conservative manifesto, which says: “The savings made from [cutting free school meals] will be added to the core schools budget, meaning that every penny saved will go towards children’s education.”

Meanwhile, the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies has confirmed that there is not a single penny of extra funding for the NHS in the Conservatives’ manifesto.

The latest chaos and confusion about Tory policy comes after the unravelling of their proposal for free school breakfasts, when it was found it would only amount to 6.8p per meal, and the announcement of an unspecified cap on social care costs being charged against people’s homes.

Ahead of tonight’s leaders’ debate and interview with Jeremy Paxman, Labour is challenging Theresa May to end the uncertainty by coming clean on what a Conservative government would mean:

 ·         How many pensioners will lose their winter fuel payments?

·         What will the cap be on social care costs for people with conditions such as dementia?

·         Will there be increases in National Insurance contributions and income tax?

·         Is the Institute for Fiscal Studies right to say there will be five years of austerity for the NHS?

·         How will they fund their school breakfast proposal (replacing free school meals) now their original 6.8p figure is discredited?

Ian Lavery, Labour’s National Election Coordinator, said:

“Theresa May has already thrown millions of pensioners into uncertainty over her dementia tax policy and now her funding for our NHS and schools is in disarray. If even her own spokespeople don’t know where the money is coming from or where it’s going, how on earth do they expect the British people to know?

“You can’t trust a word Theresa May and the Tories say, the flip-flopping and backsliding is getting ridiculous. There is a very clear choice at this election, between a Conservative party that is betraying pensioners, threatening tax rises for millions of families and promising five more years of austerity for our NHS and schools, and a Labour party with a fully costed plan for the many not the few.”