Mar 14, 2025 01:01 AM
(This post was last modified: Mar 14, 2025 01:08 AM by C C.)
Wes Streeting admits he did not anticipate scrapping NHS England - and 9,000 will lose jobs
https://news.sky.com/story/wes-streeting...s-13327935
EXCERPTS: Wes Streeting has admitted he did not anticipate scrapping NHS England when he became health secretary, but said it is a "necessary step". Before Labour won last summer's election, Mr Streeting said he had "absolutely no intention of wasting time with a big costly reorganisation" of the NHS.
However, hours after Sir Keir Starmer dropped the bombshell that NHS England, the administrative body that runs the national health service, will be abolished to slash red tape, the health secretary said his mind had been changed.
He told Trevor Phillips on Sky News' Politics Hub: "I didn't anticipate coming in wanting to make this change to NHS England. It wasn't on my list of priorities. I recognise that in order to achieve the change I want, this is a necessary step."
[...] Mr Streeting also confirmed thousands of people will lose their jobs, answering "yes" when asked if the move means more than 9,000 civil servants will be out the door - around half of the 19,000 people the health secretary said work for NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care.
He acknowledged it "will be an anxious time for them...there's no way of sugarcoating" it. "But we will be treating people with care and respect and the fairness that they are owned through this process," he said.
He said the Conservatives inherited the "shortest waiting times and the highest patient satisfaction in history" when they won the 2010 election, but said they "turned it on its head". He claimed the Labour government "is fixing it" but added: "We do have to put a foot down on the accelerator." (MORE - missing details)
Sentencing body to review 'two-tier' justice objections
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4nlpzwjggo
INTRO: The Sentencing Council will look again at arguments against its new guidelines after critics said they would create a "two-tier" justice system. The council was criticised by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood after saying it would advise judges in England and Wales to increase their focus on the lives of offenders from ethnic minority and other backgrounds before deciding on a punishment.
On Thursday, the Sentencing Council - which is independent but sponsored by the government - said it would look at her objections in detail, but did not commit to reversing course immediately. Mahmood had criticised the guidelines and said she would not tolerate "differential treatment before the law".
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the justice secretary held a "constructive meeting" with Sentencing Council leaders on Thursday, after which Mahmood said she would "set out her position more fully" in a letter... (MORE - details)
https://news.sky.com/story/wes-streeting...s-13327935
EXCERPTS: Wes Streeting has admitted he did not anticipate scrapping NHS England when he became health secretary, but said it is a "necessary step". Before Labour won last summer's election, Mr Streeting said he had "absolutely no intention of wasting time with a big costly reorganisation" of the NHS.
However, hours after Sir Keir Starmer dropped the bombshell that NHS England, the administrative body that runs the national health service, will be abolished to slash red tape, the health secretary said his mind had been changed.
He told Trevor Phillips on Sky News' Politics Hub: "I didn't anticipate coming in wanting to make this change to NHS England. It wasn't on my list of priorities. I recognise that in order to achieve the change I want, this is a necessary step."
[...] Mr Streeting also confirmed thousands of people will lose their jobs, answering "yes" when asked if the move means more than 9,000 civil servants will be out the door - around half of the 19,000 people the health secretary said work for NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care.
He acknowledged it "will be an anxious time for them...there's no way of sugarcoating" it. "But we will be treating people with care and respect and the fairness that they are owned through this process," he said.
He said the Conservatives inherited the "shortest waiting times and the highest patient satisfaction in history" when they won the 2010 election, but said they "turned it on its head". He claimed the Labour government "is fixing it" but added: "We do have to put a foot down on the accelerator." (MORE - missing details)
Sentencing body to review 'two-tier' justice objections
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4nlpzwjggo
INTRO: The Sentencing Council will look again at arguments against its new guidelines after critics said they would create a "two-tier" justice system. The council was criticised by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood after saying it would advise judges in England and Wales to increase their focus on the lives of offenders from ethnic minority and other backgrounds before deciding on a punishment.
On Thursday, the Sentencing Council - which is independent but sponsored by the government - said it would look at her objections in detail, but did not commit to reversing course immediately. Mahmood had criticised the guidelines and said she would not tolerate "differential treatment before the law".
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the justice secretary held a "constructive meeting" with Sentencing Council leaders on Thursday, after which Mahmood said she would "set out her position more fully" in a letter... (MORE - details)